Passed with nearly all Republican votes, the House of Representatives today adopted Rep. Steve Scalise’s (R-La.) amendment to the REINS Act which would require a Congressional vote on any major regulation that taxes carbon. With President Obama explicitly ordering federal agencies to implement carbon reducing policies, the Scalise amendment provides taxpayers with a necessary safeguard against a carbon tax.
The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office described the negative effects of a carbon tax this way:
The higher prices it caused would diminish the purchasing power of people’s earnings, effectively reducing their real (inflation-adjusted) wages. Lower real wages would have the net effect of reducing the amount that people worked, thus decreasing the overall supply of labor. Investment would also decline, further reducing the economy’s total output.
An economic analysis by the National Manufacturers Association details how a carbon tax designed to reduce CO2 levels by 80 percent could:
• Result in a loss of worker income equivalent to 1.3-1.5 million jobs in 2013 and 3.8-21 million jobs by 2053
• Potentially raise gasoline prices by over $10 per gallon
• Raise residential electricity prices by 40 percent
Yet, Democrats are willing to inflict these policies on the American people in order to fund a bloated government.