Dear “Gang of 10”:
On behalf of the undersigned organizations representing hundreds of thousands of taxpayers, small businesses, shareholders, consumers and senior citizens, we strongly urge you and your colleagues to consider the below concerns and redraft the bipartisan Senate energy plan to prevent further harm to the U.S. economy and its citizens.
We commend the Senate’s attempts to find a bipartisan solution to Americans energy needs. Further, we are pleased with the removal of anti-“speculation” measures which save the marketplace from unwarranted government intervention and show confidence and support for the American investor.
However, the current state of the proposal contains several potentially fatal flaws. The most glaring of which is the lack of certainty that the current proposed measures will not raise taxes on the American people. Sound energy policy should contain fiscally responsible measures that will actually result in lower prices – not penalties to the taxpayer. Why allow room for a tax increase when Americans are already paying so much at the pump?
Additionally, in a time when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has expressed willingness to allow a vote on Outer Continental Shelf drilling, your proposal only permits four states to opt-in to oil leasing off their shores – retaining all regulatory powers at the federal level. It is not the job of the federal government to regulate the leasing of state waters and control when, where and how energy exploration can occur. The bill, by barring any drilling within 50 miles of the coast leaves much of the most productive OCS areas off limits. How will this create more supply and lower prices?
Any legislation which rejects proposals to expand oil and gas drilling, and other energy development on federal lands, prevents progress towards lessening America’s dependence on foreign oil. Only 32 percent of all oil and 35 percent of all natural gas produced in the United States comes from federal lands and waters. While other nations utilize their domestic oil and gas resources to boost their economies, this proposed energy package places heavy federal restrictions on offshore drilling and continues bans on drilling in ANWR and on domestic shale oil and gas.
As you know, the Congressional bans on offshore drilling and oil shale production expire at the stroke of midnight on Oct.1, which would increase American energy production far more than the compromise you have suggested. Rather than saddling American energy producers and consumers with billions of dollars in higher taxes, a wiser solution is to allow these bans on American energy production to expire as scheduled – and to oppose any effort to sneak an extension of these bans into any last-minute spending bills.
Further, this proposal will serve to stifle the much needed investment in all areas of energy production. The provision to discriminatively repeal Section 199 of the tax code for energy companies takes away capital that would otherwise be reinvested domestically. This means fewer American jobs while companies pass their costs (imposed by the repeal of Section 199) onto the consumer at the pump.
Promoting the use of alternative energy by limiting access to new domestic energy sources of oil and natural gas AND imposing new taxes on the U.S. oil and gas industry will not help supply stable and affordable energy to satisfy the demands of American consumers.
Moreover, the new taxes targeted at the U.S. oil and gas industry will even further reduce our nation’s energy security by discouraging new domestic energy production and discouraging new investment in refinery capacity. The results of the perverse incentives will tilt the competitive playing field for global energy resources against the United States and toward our foreign competitors.
This bill oversteps the bounds of government in micromanaging the will of private industry. Support for a comprehensive, bipartisan energy solution must not hinge on the unrealistic proposed fuel standards. Congress cannot be allowed to dictate corporate production models by requiring 85 percent of vehicles to run on non-petroleum-based fuel in 20 years. Studies show that increasing fuel standards to such extremes force manufacturers to produce lighter cars, exposing Americans to greater risk as road deaths increase to 8,000 per mile for each gallon gained in fuel economy.
Energy legislation should not attempt to define the market by creating “winners” and “losers”, but should institute sound, fiscally-responsible legislation that will decrease U.S. dependence on foreign oil and protect American jobs.
We strongly urge you to reconsider your proposal by incorporating the aforementioned principles. Currently, your proposal directly interferes with a free-market economy and will increase the financial costs that already overburden the American people.
Sincerely,
Brian M Johnson
Executive Director
Alliance for Worker Freedom
David Keane
President
American Conservative Union
Linda Runbeck
President
American Property Coalition
Tim Phillips
President
Americans for Prosperity
Jim Pfaff
State Director
Americans for Prosperity of Colorado
Dustin Gawrylow
State Policy Director
Americans for Prosperity of ND
Mark Chmura
Executive Director
Americans for the Preservation of Liberty
Grover G. Norquist
President
Americans for Tax Reform
Ryan L Ellis
Executive Director
American Shareholders Association
David Anderson, Ph.D.
CEO
Asora
Brad Bergh
President
Caesar Rodney Institute
Sandra Fabry
Executive Director
Center for Fiscal Accountability
Jeffrey Mazzella
President
Center for Individual Freedom
Chuck Muth
President
Citizen Outreach
Marita K. Noon
Executive Director
Citizens Alliance for Responsible Energy
Francis J. Faulkner
Associate Director
Citizens for Limited Taxation of MA
Joel C. Mandelman
Chairman
Clean Oceans Technology Coalition
Pat Toomey
President
Club for Growth
Ken Blackwell
Chairman
Coalition for a Conservative Majority
Doug Bandow
Bastiat Scholar in Free Enterprise
Competitive Enterprise Institute
Dowd Muska
Chairman
Connecticut Center-Right Coalition
Thomas Schatz
President
Council for Citizens Against Government Waste
Richard Watson
Chairman
Florida Center-Right Coalition
Corey Miltimore
President
Freedom Foundation of Minnesota
Max Pappas
Vice President, Public Policy
FreedomWorks
George Landrith
President
Frontiers of Freedom
Louie Hunter
Chairman
Georgia Center-Right Coalition
Jamie Story
President
Grassroot Institute of Hawaii
James Wagoner
Maui Coordinator
Grassroot Institute of Hawaii
Richard Rowland
Chairman
Hawaii Center-Right Coalition
Greg Blankinship
President & Founder
Illinois Policy Institute
Richard W. Rahn
Chairman
Institute for Global Economic Growth
Andrew Langer
President
Institute for Liberty
Dr. Don Racheter
Chairman
Iowa Center-Right Coalition
Collin Hanna
President
Let Freedom Ring
Lowman S. Henry
Chairman & CEO
Lincoln Institute of Public Opinion Research Inc.
Richard Falknor
Chairman
Maryland Center-Right Coalition
Forest Thigpen
President
Mississippi Center for Public Policy
Peter Flaherty
President
National Legal and Policy Center
Duane Parde
President
National Taxpayers Union
Bruce E. A. Larsen
Chairman
New Mexico-Santa Fe Center-Right Coalition
Mickey D. Barnett
Chairman
New Mexico-Albuquerque Center-Right Coalition
William J. Felkner
President
Ocean State Policy Research Institute
Kelsey Zahourek
Executive Director
Property Rights Alliance
Erick-Woods Erickson
Editor
RedState.Com
William Haygood Shaker
Voluntary President
RepublicanPac.com
Dr. William Greene
President
RightMarch.com
Paul J. Gessing
President
Rio Grande Foundation
William Haygood Shaker
Voluntary President
Rule of Law Committee
Karen Kerrigan
President & CEO
Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council
Sam Sloan
President
Small Business Hawaii
Jason Williams
State Director
Taxpayer Association of Oregon
Phil Krinkie
President
Taxpayers League of Minnesota
Cathie Adams
President
Texas Eagle Forum
TX National Committeewoman-elect
J. Robert McClure, III
President and CEO
The James Madison Institute
Amy Ridenour
President
National Center for Public Policy Research
C. Preston Noell III
President
Tradition, Family, Property, Inc.
Bill Barton
Vice Chairman
Utah Grass Roots
Jim Martin
President
60 Plus Association
Alan B. Smith, Executive Director
American Legislative Exchange Counsel
Eric Odom
Director
#dontgo Movement www.dontgomovement.com