Pittsburgh Tribune-Review - GOP Says Clean Energy Act is 'War on Midwest'
Legislation aimed at moving America away from fossil fuels is being misrepresented, Republican opponents said Tuesday.
Supporters say the bill, passed by a House committee last week, will stem pollution and create thousands of well-paying jobs. Named the American Clean Energy and Security Act, it is better known as Waxman-Markey after its primary sponsors, Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., and Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass.
"Waxman-Markey is about revenue -- make no mistake," said Chris Horner, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington. "It means an increase in the price of energy. That's the point, it's not a side effect. It has nothing to do with climate change."
Horner was one of five witnesses to testify yesterday at the Pittsburgh Energy Summit, one of four events being held nationwide by Republican members of Congress using the name American Energy Solutions Group.
The group is comprised of 26 House members charged by House Republican leader John Boehner of Ohio with devising an alternative to Waxman-Markey.
The group is intent on doing everything possible to stop Waxman-Markey from becoming law, said Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana. Also attending yesterday's event at the Holiday Inn in Ross were Reps. Tim Murphy of Upper St. Clair and Glenn Thompson of Centre County.
"Advocates of the legislation call it a jobs bill, but we believe the opposite is true," Pence said. "It's an economic declaration of war on the Midwest (including Pennsylvania) by the liberals in Washington."
Under a cap-and-trade system the legislation proposes, the government sets a limit, or cap, on greenhouse gas emissions, primarily carbon dioxide, that industries such as utilities and steel mills can emit. Polluters would be forced to amass emissions credits equal to their emissions through buying and selling credits as needed.
J. Clifford Forrest, owner of Kittanning-based Rosebud Mining Co., said that enacting Waxman-Markey would be "like putting sand in the crankcase" of the economy.
Forrest told the legislators that Waxman-Markey would impact employment for his 800 workers at 12 underground mines and four coal preparation plants in seven Western Pennsylvania counties.
"Estimates that the legislation will increase energy costs by $3,200 a year per family doesn't sound like much -- unless you don't have a job," Forrest said.
Our pro-growth agenda will remove government barriers to job creation without raising taxes on working families and small business owners.
