Issues | Energy and "Cap and Trade"

We as a nation must begin moving away from our extreme reliance on foreign sources of fossil fuels. It is harmful to the environment and is a national security issue in terms of reliance on sources of energy from outside this nation. We must develop a comprehensive, national plan that leads us towards energy independence and clean, renewable energy from domestic sources.

The requirements that would be placed on businesses by HR 2454 (the carbon emissions “Cap and Trade”) would significantly drive up the cost of energy, which in turn drives up production costs. Those costs would be passed on to every business and household in the U.S. In essence, this would be an energy tax that will be a new financial burden on small businesses and families – that is completely unacceptable in light of the challenging economy we face.

We all want and deserve a clean environment. We have to provide incentives for the continued development of renewable energy sources such as nuclear, wind, solar, biomass, and hydrogen.

But the U.S. cannot take extreme unilateral measures will other carbon-emitting nations such as China do not. Unilateral job-killing, budget-busting regulations will only further damage our economy with no meaningful positive impact on the earth’s environment as a whole.

We also have to fully tap into all of our own domestic sources of energy. One local possibility is natural gas. With the proper regulations in place, accessing local natural gas is a major step the right direction. The full utilization of such resources can be a major source of jobs in the 29th Congressional District and help to ween us from foreign crude oil.