U.S. Needs Energy Bill To Help Jobs (MO. Sen Kit Bond)
June 3rd, 2008
Republicans want to cut carbon emissions and protect the environment.
We support strong investment in clean energy technology. There are a lot of things we are for – from nuclear power, to clean coal, to batteries for hybrids.
What we are against is a bill that will cut already-strained family budgets and jobs.
Senator Boxer herself said this bill will generate 6.7 trillion dollars from carbon auctions and sales.
That 6.7 trillion dollar price tag will be passed on to families and workers in the form of higher bills and lost jobs.
Whether bill sponsors admit that their bill is a hidden tax hike or not, we know that it will hurt families and workers.
According to the EPA, under Lieberman-Warner the average household will see their power bills rise 44 percent by 2030, lose $4,377 to higher energy prices and pay $1.40 more per gallon of gasoline by 2050.
I do not know about other members, but I cannot inflict that kind of pain on my Missouri constituents.
Just last week I traveled across the state to talk about our energy future. When I told my Missouri constituents that the Senate this week would not be moving a bill to open up the massive supplies of oil and gas America has to lower prices, but that this body would be considering a bill to add huge price increases to all energy, they could not believe it.
These higher U.S. energy prices would drive energy-intensive manufacturing jobs overseas to foreign countries with cheaper energy prices.
Manufacturing workers are already suffering. We have seen half the U.S. fertilizer industry leave the country. Chemical companies are leaving the U.S.
Just recently, Dow announced it was thinking of selling its plastics business because firms in Asia and the Middle East have access to cheaper energy.
Adding to this misery, manufacturers estimate this bill will cost Missouri over 76,000 jobs and cut between 3 and 4 million jobs nationwide by 2030.
Until we have the technology we need to make the steep and quick emissions cuts sponsors want, this bill is nothing more than a 6.7 trillion dollar tax increase on American families and workers.
Republicans want to work on a common sense proposal filled with clean energy solutions – but we will not do so by hurting our families and killing our jobs.
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