WASHINGTON, DC - House Energy and Commerce leaders today touted the need for the Energy Tax Prevention Act, H.R. 910, to protect American jobs and keep gas and energy prices from rising even higher. Committee members urged their colleagues in the House of Representatives to join them in supporting H.R. 910 to stop the EPA from using the Clean Air Act to unilaterally impose greenhouse gas regulations to address climate change.
Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI) highlighted the impacts of EPA’s harsh regulations on manufacturers, writing, “If manufacturers cannot compete under harsh U.S. rules, they will have no choice but to send their jobs overseas to nations that may not even provide the most basic environmental protections. Jobs would go overseas, but emissions would not be reduced - all economic pain for no environmental gain."
Energy and Power Subcommittee Chairman Ed Whitfield (R-KY) joined Environment and the Economy Subcommittee Chairman John Shimkus (R-IL) and Energy and Commerce members Cory Gardner (R-CO) and Steve Scalise (R-LA) urging support for the Energy Tax prevention Act to help protect American jobs. The committee leaders wrote, “While destroying jobs in the U.S., the EPA is creating them in China and other industrial competitors where these costly regulations don’t apply. H.R. 910 puts an end to this self-imposed competitive disadvantage that is forcing American jobs overseas."
Whitfield and Energy and Power Vice Chairman John Sullivan (R-OK) together detailed the impact of EPA’s proposed regulations on energy prices, explaining, “As gasoline gets closer to the budget-crunching $4/gallon mark, EPA’s actions are beyond irresponsible, they are a direct threat to families and job creators. And as the country attempts to emerge from recession, raising the cost of gasoline and electricity will hamstring any recovery effort."
Chairman of the Committee on Small Business Rep. Sam Graves (R-MO) joined Upton and Whitfield in a joint committee effort urging the passage of H.R. 910 to protect small businesses from devastating regulations. The members wrote, “America’s small businesses create seven of every ten new jobs and they employ just over half of the country’s private sector workforce. A big part of creating an environment for economic growth and removing barriers for small business job creation is preventing burdensome federal regulations. And EPA’s reckless climate regulations are among the greatest looming burdens for job creators."
Four members of the Republican Doctors Caucus who sit on the Energy and Commerce Committee, Rep. Michael Burgess (R-TX), Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-GA), Rep. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), and Tim Murphy (R-PA), authored two letters of support for H.R. 910. The letters set the record straight, debunking false claims that H.R. 910 would change the Clean Air Act and threaten public health. The doctors wrote, “While H.R. 910 ensures the EPA continues to protect public health, it will also protect the nation’s economic health by restricting the agency from imposing a broad array of new regulations that would eventually affect virtually all aspects of the U.S. economy, driving up the costs of gasoline, electricity, heating, cooling, food, goods and services." Click HERE to read the letter which explains H.R. 910’s protection of the Clean Air Act.
House Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas (R-OK) and Ranking Member Collin Peterson (D-MN) also weighed into the debate, urging their colleagues to pass H.R. 910 to ensure that farmers and ranchers are not burdened with higher costs. The agricultural leaders wrote, “Even if farmers and ranchers are exempt from additional regulations they will still pay a price from the higher energy and operating costs they’ll face from other industries hit by these regulations or from further regulations down the road. Whether it’s the fuel in the tractor, the fertilizer for the crops or the delivery of food to the grocery store, the cost of providing safe, affordable and reliable food and fiber will increase."
In addition to the widespread support among House members, the Energy Tax Prevention Act received strong support from numerous business groups and taxpayer organizations.
