The Daily Truth About the Democrats’ National Energy Tax

Truth #3: Creates the Largest Welfare Program in Our Nation’s History

What the bill does: The bill (H.R. 2454) requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to provide monthly cash payments, or “energy stamps”, to low-income households for their estimated “loss in their purchasing power” resulting from the Democrats’ national energy tax.  The bill establishes a national standard of eligibility (covering everyone under 150% of the poverty line).  Energy stamps would reach an estimated 65 million individuals (about 20 percent of all US residents) – making it a larger program than welfare, food stamps, or even Medicaid. (H.R. 2454, American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, Sec. 431, p. 1193)
 
What this means for Americans: If, as Democrats claim, their national energy tax will create millions of well-paying “green jobs,” then why do we need to create a new energy welfare program?  The Democrats’ national energy tax plan will raise energy costs on all Americans.  Democrats know this so they created the largest welfare program in American history to compensate for those increased costs.  Despite the massive scope of this program, more than 200 million Americans will not receive benefits, just energy tax hikes without direct relief.