Dear John,
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and her allies are ignoring the message CCAGW members delivered loud and clear last December. Once again, Democratic congressional leaders are trying to raise energy taxes. We stopped them before. Help us do it again!
Tell your Representative to reject the $18 billion in tax increases in H.R. 5351, the Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Tax Act of 2008!
In this latest scheme, Speaker Pelosi would impose $18 billion in taxes on oil and gas companies in order to subsidize alternative energy technologies, such as wind, solar, and biofuels. Americans are already facing steep prices at the pump and soaring utility bills, and these tax increases will only push those costs higher.
What’s more, the nation is teetering on the brink of an economic recession, and raising taxes on oil and gas companies will jeopardize some of the six million jobs generated by the industry. These tax hikes will also depress the value of energy stocks, 41 percent of which are held in the pension and retirement accounts of average Americans and 30 percent of which are held in mutual funds.
More and more scientific studies are showing that biofuels, particularly corn ethanol, are not the panacea to solve our energy woes. Two studies from the February 8 edition of Science magazine point out that converting crops, such as corn, sugarcane, and palm oil, into fuel is inflating the price of food, causing shortages, and destroying forests. For those concerned about global warming, scientists are finding that some manufacturing of biofuels emits more CO2 than gasoline.
Taxing the oil and gas industry is an old and failed approach to energy “independence.” Despite the politicians’ professed aims, the “windfall” profits tax of the 1980s resulted in LESS domestic energy production and GREATER DEPENDENCE on foreign oil. Since the 1970s, Congress’ meddling in the energy marketplace has pushed America’s dependence on foreign sources of energy from 37 percent to 66 percent today.
Rather than recycling the failed policies of the past, Congress should adopt policies that allow the market to flourish, promote more domestic energy production, and stir competition. Such measures will help keep prices down and lead to the development of more viable alternative energy sources.
Sincerely,
Thomas A. Schatz
President
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The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW) is the lobbying arm of Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW), the nation's largest taxpayer watchdog organization with more than one million members and supporters nationwide. CCAGW is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that lobbies for legislation to eliminate waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government. For more information about CCAGW, visit www.ccagw.org. Help CCAGW wage this battle to stop the $18 billion in energy taxes proposed by Speaker Pelosi by making a contribution to support our lobbying and grassroots campaign today!
To stop this energy tax hike, the House of Representatives needs to hear from as many Americans as possible. Please help us by forwarding this message to your friends and neighbors.
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