Will Reid Address Effort to Pass a National Energy Tax at Las Vegas Photo-Op Today?

Monday, 29 June 2009 11:30

WASHINGTON – In the latest effort by the Obama Administration to help prop up his sagging approval numbers in Nevada, U.S. Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) is holding a media event on solar energy development in Las Vegas today with Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar.  The outstanding question this morning, however, is whether or not the Senate Democratic Leader will address the controversial climate change and national energy tax legislation that narrowly passed the U.S. House of Representatives on Friday evening in a partisan vote.

Reid, who has said the Senate will take up this bill next month despite predictions from experts in both parties that it will lead to more job losses and higher energy taxes, issued a statement on Friday calling the House vote “a courageous step toward a safer and cleaner energy future.”

“If energy is topic one for Harry Reid in Nevada today, he should address the number one question surrounding the cap-and-tax legislation he’s pushing for in the Senate – why, at a time when Nevada’s unemployment is over 11 percent is he trying to pass a bill that even liberal and non-partisan experts predict will lead to fewer jobs and higher taxes,” said National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) spokesman Brian Walsh.  “There is no disagreement between Republicans and Democrats that our country needs to pursue alternative energy production, particularly solar energy.  Where Republicans disagree with Harry Reid is his decision to push for a national energy tax at a time when too many Nevada families are already struggling to make ends meet.”

“This is yet another example of Harry Reid pushing a liberal Democrat agenda in Washington, while turning a blind eye to the economic problems facing his constituents in Nevada.  It will be interesting to see if he addresses this in Las Vegas today because this is clearly a top priority for him when he’s back in Washington,” Walsh concluded.

Background on Democrats’ Controversial Climate Change Effort –
Higher Taxes, Less Jobs

Obama Admitted ‘Cap-And-Trade’ Means “Electricity Rates Would Necessarily Skyrocket.” “When I was asked earlier about the issue of coal, you know, under my plan of a cap and trade system, electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket. Even regardless of what I say about whether coal is good or bad. Because I’m capping greenhouse gases, coal power plants, you know, natural gas, you name it, whatever the plants were, whatever the industry was, uh, they would have to retrofit their operations. That will cost money. They will pass that money on to consumers.” (Sen. Barack Obama, Interview with San Francisco Chronicle Editorial Board, 1/17/08)  Watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydqg7ThZB04

OMB Director Peter Orszag Said Cap-And-Trade Will "Absolutely" Lead To Higher Energy Prices. ABC'S GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: "So you're not disputing that the cap and trade on its own will increase prices for most Americans but they're going to be getting other benefits in the budget?" PETER ORSZAG: "Absolutely." (ABC's "This Week," 3/1/09) Watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ms-M--v2_5I

Even Warren Buffet Says A National Energy Tax Will Hurt Poor Americans. “I think if you get into the way it was written, it’s a huge tax and there’s no sense calling it anything else.  I mean, it is a tax.  And it’s a fairly regressive tax.  If we buy permits, essentially, at our utilities, that goes right into the bills of the utility customers and an awful lot of people in Iowa, in Oregon, and Utah, and places where we are, very poor people are going to pay a lot more money for electricity . . . .”  (Warren Buffett's Live Lunch Interview on CNBC, CNBC's Power Lunch, 6/24/09)

June 2009: According To The Congressional Budget Office, The Gross Cost Of Complying With The Cap-And-Trade Program Outlined In H.R. 2454 (Waxman-Markey) Would Be About $890 Per Household. “According to CBO’s estimates, the gross cost of complying with the GHG cap-and-trade program delineated in H.R. 2454 would be about $110 billion in 2020 (measured in terms of  2010 levels of consumption and income), or about $890 per household.” (“The Estimated Costs to Households From the Cap-and-Trade Provisions of H.R. 2454,” Congressional Budget Office, 6/19/09)

• “Although The Increase In Out-Of-Pocket Expenditures Because Of The Higher Prices Would Be Substantially Larger For High-Income Households Than For Low-Income Households, They Would Impose A Larger Burden—Measured As A Share Of Income—On Low-Income Households. That increased cost would account for 2.5 percent of after-tax income for the average household in the lowest income quintile, compared with 0.7 percent of after-tax income for the average household in the highest quintile. That difference occurs for two reasons: Lower-income households consume a larger fraction of their income, and energy-intensive goods and services make up a larger share of lower-income households’ expenditures.” (“The Estimated Costs to Households From the Cap-and-Trade Provisions of H.R. 2454,” Congressional Budget Office, 6/19/09)

Brookings Institution Says “Cap-And-Trade” Will Cause Job Losses. “A report issued by the left-leaning research organization said that if Congress passes something similar to President Obama's or the House’s proposed plan, the economy would take the biggest hit around 2025. . . . [T]he net job loss would be 0.5 percent over the first 10 years that the legislation is in effect.” (Amanda DeBard, “Study: Cap and Trade Would Hurt Economy,” The Washington Times, 6/9/09)

National Black Chamber of Commerce Finds National Energy Tax Will Harm Economy, Cause Unemployment And Reduce Wages. "[C]ap-and-trade system outlined in bill would: reduce national GDP roughly $350 billon below the baseline level; cut net employment by 2.5 million jobs (even after accounting for new "green" jobs), reduce earnings for the average U.S. worker by $390 per year." ("NBCC Study Finds Waxman-Markey Reduces GDP by $350 Billion: New study finds Waxman-Markey could cost 2.5 million U.S. jobs by 2030 and reduce earnings," Press Release. National Black Chamber of Commerce, 6/24/09)