7 July 2009

Dear Chairman Bingaman and Ranking Member Murkowski,

On behalf of Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) and millions of American taxpayers, I  strongly urge you to reject considering the recently House-passed  H.R. 2454, “The American Clean Energy and Security Act,” also known as the Waxman-Markey plan (or Cap-and-Trade/Cap-and-Tax).

Recently passed through the U.S. House of Representatives by a slim margin, I am asking that the Senate not take up a bill that raises taxes on every American family. Additionally, as we approach the summer traveling season, this will drastically increase the cost of energy while eliminating American jobs. 

The Waxman-Markey bill you will soon be pressured to consider will increase energy costs by $1,500 annually for the typical family of four. Further, the Heritage Foundation estimates that even with a 26 percent reduction in electricity use, electric bills will increase $754 with the Waxman-Markey plan. Additionally, from 2012 to 2035, a typical family will spend $12,200 more on its electric bill than in the absence of Waxman-Markey.

Even with a decrease in fuel consumption by 15 percent, energy prices will still increase. As a result of the Waxman-Markey plan, an average American family of four will pay an additional $596 for gas usage in 2035. From 2012 to 2035, the Waxman-Markey plan will cost them an additional $7,500 in gas costs. Before all the damage is done from Waxman-Markey, a family of four will see its direct energy costs rise by $22,800 from 2012 to 2035.

The proposed Cap-and-Trade scheme will result in a loss of nearly 2,500,000 million American jobs. At a time when unemployment rates are almost 10 percent, America needs economic policies that lead to job creation, not job destruction.

As Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, I urge you to lead the charge in opposition to consider the Waxman-Markey Cap-and-Trade/Cap-and-Tax bill as a tax increase that American families simply cannot afford, and energy policy that we cannot accept.

For more information, contact Brian Johnson at Americans for Tax Reform at bjohnson@atr.org or 202-785-0266.

Onward,
 
Grover G. Norquist

cc: All U.S. Senators
 

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