It is a rare Saturday blog but that is because we are in a rare Saturday session of Congress. I won't bore you with the circumstances that led to this weekend's legislative endeavor, I am sure you have heard or read about the mess the Democratic leadership has created over the past two days, but know that even on a weekend your pocketbooks & wallets are not safe from the tax & spenders in Congress.
One of the first items Pelosi and her team will attempt to ram through today is an Energy bill that is divided into two parts. The fiscal part of this bill is the "Renewable Energy & Energy Conservation Tax Act." Now, I am the first to admit there are several good things in this legislation and I have been an advocate of alternative energy development my whole political career including solar and nuclear energy.
However, these small concessions are overshadowed by the $15.3 billion in tax increases this bill contains on domestic energy exploration & production, creation and sale of renewable diesel, and international creation & sale of biodiesel & ethanol fuels. In addition, while the program in the bill that provides $2 billion in renewable energy bonds for the creation of renewable energy facilities is admirable, the mandate that any renewable energy facility built with these funds must submit to Davis-Bacon standards is not.
This bill will only hurt domestic energy production, increase energy costs to consumers and small businesses, and increase our dependence on foreign energy providers. This is not what should be at the core of a sound domestic energy policy, no matter how appealing the smaller pieces around the edges may be.
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