FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 26, 2009
CONTACT:
Laura Henderson, 202.621.2951
Patrick Creighton, 202.870.0850
Landmark Carbon Tax Bill Narrowly Clears U.S. House
Job-Killing Cap-and-Trade Will Lead to Less Economic Output, Higher Costs Across the Board
WASHINGTON, DC – Institute for Energy Research (IER) president Thomas J. Pyle issued the following statement today subsequent to House passage of cap-and-trade legislation, a bill that seeks to ration Americans’ use of and access to energy by making it too expensive for them to afford it:
“As working-class families across the nation today were going through their daily routines – working, driving their kids to soccer practice, making weekend plans – an unprecedented piece of legislation that will fundamentally alter their way, quality, and station of life took a major step closer to becoming law today.
“The House-passed cap-and-trade scheme will increase the cost of energy for every single American. With families and small businesses already struggling through the current economic downturn, now is the worst time to tax and further restrict the affordable and reliable energy sources that fuel our economy. This job-killing cap-and-tax bill will not make America more economically competitive or more energy secure. It will, however, directly contribute to the climbing unemployment rolls.
“Misery loves company. And thanks to the mandates in this bill, states with the least reliable and most expensive electricity will soon be able to export their failures nationwide.”
The Institute for Energy Research (IER) is a not-for-profit organization that conducts intensive research and analysis on the functions, operations, and government regulation of global energy markets. IER maintains that freely-functioning energy markets provide the most efficient and effective solutions to today’s global energy and environmental challenges and, as such, are critical to the well-being of individuals and society.
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