Washington
(Jun 16, 2009)
According to
AAA, gasoline prices climbed again today, making it seven full weeks that prices have spiked for families and small businesses. Seems to be a bad time to bring to the House floor legislation to drive energy costs even higher, doesn’t it? Apparently not, because House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has made this Friday her deadline for having national energy tax legislation ready for consideration in the full House. That troubles the national organization representing America’s truck drivers, who are responsible for transporting food and other products on behalf of families and small businesses across the country. Here’s what Tommy Hodges, First Vice Chairman of the American Trucking Association,
said recently about the impact of Speaker Pelosi’s national energy tax on America’s truck drivers:
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“‘Fleets are extremely sensitive to rapidly shifting operating costs given thin operating margins,’ said Hodges. ‘These margins continue to be chipped away, given the numerous and unprecedented costs being imposed upon the industry to reduce emissions from trucks.’”
“Hodges explained that provisions in H.R. 2454’s cap-and-trade program grant oil refiners 2 percent of the carbon allowances between 2014 and 2016 to help mitigate refinery Greenhouse Gas emissions.”
“‘This amount is inadequate and will result in significant price increases for refined products,’ said Hodges. ‘The 2 percent allotment to refineries over a 2-year period covers the refineries’ facility emissions, but totally ignores carbon emissions from the combustion of petroleum products, leaving downstream users, such as trucking companies, exposed to dramatic and sudden fuel price spikes.’”
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Leaving truck drivers “exposed to dramatic and sudden fuel price spikes,” as Mr. Hodges asserted, would not only mean higher costs for the trucking industry, of course. It would mean higher prices for fuel, food, and other products Americans depend upon each and every day. At a time when costs of living are soaring and middle-class families and small businesses are struggling to make ends meet, is this really the kind of policy Americans are expecting from their leaders in Washington? Of course not, and that’s why House Republicans have proposed the American Energy Act, legislation that represents the fastest route to a cleaner environment, lower energy costs, and more American jobs. The legislation would:
- Increase environmentally-safe energy production on remote lands and far off our shores;
- Promote the use of alternative fuels that will reduce carbon emissions, such as nuclear, clean-coal, and renewable energy technologies; and
- Encourage increased efficiencies and cutting edge technologies to maximize America’s energy potential.
As Americans pay more and more at the pump every day, isn’t it time for Democrats to end their ill-advised plans for a national energy tax that will make everything from gasoline to electricity to food much more costly? Isn’t it time for bipartisan cooperation on the
American Energy Act to clean up the environment, lower energy costs, and create more jobs here at home?