The budget debate commanded the spotlight recently but energy issues are making a comeback.  With a Democrat-controlled Congress, Republicans are taking a strong stand against cap and trade legislation and pricy energy policies.

The newly introduced GOP energy working gropu is headed by House Republican Conference Chairman Mike Pence, chosen  by Leader John Boehner. One of the group's major concerns is the Democrat agenda to impose an expensive energy tax on Americans, mostly notably those who make less than $200,000 a year. Previously, President Obama pledged he would not raise taxes on anyone in that income bracket but these taxes break that promise.

"As independent studies have shown, it’s states like Indiana, that are so dependent on coal-burning power plants for our electricity, that are going to bear the heaviest burden. Our families, our small businesses, our family farms are in the ‘cross-hairs’ of this massive new energy tax," Pence told Hoosier AG Today.

Though Republicans have little power to stop energy legislation in Congress, the working group hopes to muster public opinion enough to stop it in the Senate.