Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite (FL) recently wrote on the Democrats' National Energy Tax in the St. Petersburg Times:
I do not like to complain about process, but unbelievably this bill was not even complete before the vote took place. In fact, pages of text were in piles being passed around the speaker's desk by clerks. Who knows what we voted on? Members of Congress sure didn't, and neither did the editors. Putting aside the probity of passing legislation that no one has read, let alone assembled, this bill does almost nothing to lead to energy independence. In fact, it has been reported by Bloomberg that if this became law, America would be more dependent on foreign oil then ever before.
Keep in mind all of this is just "a starting point." Apparently, we're to believe that having the president regulate every bulb, every lamp, every appliance, every by-law in your homeowner and condo association, and the location of the outlets in your home is also just "a starting point." One wonders, where will this finish?
It's not that I don't think we need to take action to protect our environment. On the contrary, when Democrats first took over Congress I sided with their initial efforts to bring balance to the carbon-centric approach of America's energy policy. I have a long record of supporting conservation, even winning recognition from the Sierra Club for my efforts to protect our precious water resources. But I have always fought for pragmatic efforts that will improve our environment and our economy. I believe strongly that we can green the economy and grow it, but drastically higher taxes will do neither.