Cap and Trade Floor Vote on Friday: Take Action!

Action Alert: Friday, the House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on H.R. 2454, the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (the "Cap and Trade Energy Bill") that aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by giving the federal government the power to limit the amount of oil, gasoline, coal, and other fossil fuels used by American utilities and industry. This is a bill that could fundamentally alter the American economy, dramatically affect the climate, and have huge implications for our national security. But, right now no one knows what's in the bill or how it came to be.

H.R. 2454, also known as the called Waxman-Markey bill (Reps. Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Edward Markey (D-MA), will place a severe regulatory burden on American businesses, which will increase their costs and reduce their competitiveness, hurting our nation’s economy. These higher operating costs for utilities, oil companies, and industry will ultimately trickle down to individual Americans, resulting in an estimated 74% more for gasoline, 90% more for electricity, and 55% more on our natural gas bills. And that’s not the end of it. We’ll also pay more for every product that requires fossil fuels in its manufacture or transportation!

The Waxman-Markey cap-and-trade plan will also grow the size and cost of government by requiring the Environmental Protection Agency to establish a greenhouse gas (GHG) registry, create a GHG emission allowance transfer system, and set emission allowances from 2012-2050. The bill would force carbon-emitting industries coal, oil, gasoline, and natural gas to purchase carbon permits that would reduce in supply over the next decade. The bill aims to reduce industrial emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases by 17% by 2020 and 83% by 2050. In reality, this cap-and-trade plan is nothing more than a hidden tax that The Heritage Foundation has estimated could increase the average American family’s energy bill by $1,500 annually!

This army of new bureaucrats will eventually control every aspect of industrial, commercial, and individual energy use. What’s more, the cap-and-trade program will necessarily be ripe for political favoritism and corruption, as politicians and bureaucrats manipulate the system for favored industries.

In addition, our electedd Represntatives have NOT been able to read this "secret bill." The Sunlight Foundation a nonpartisan transparency group lambasted the secrecy of the bill. They point out that last week, H.R. 2454, was 946 pages long. Over the weekend, it ballooned to 1,201 pages with no explanation for how or why. It is currently only available online at the House Rules Committee, and is reported as "text of the bill to be introduced." Sunlight Foundation Engagement Director Jake Brewer said, "The fastest speed-readers and the most intelligent minds can't make informed decisions with that much time. How can Congress?" He continued, "The problem here is the bill wasn't developed in the open in a committee, so no one--including those members of Congress not on the Energy Committee-knows how this latest version was created."

What makes the bill even worse is that the science behind cap-and-trade is contrived and misleading. The whole premise of global 'warming' is based upon flawed computer models that predict climate change, and are not based on actual observable data that can be confirmed. A study from APS Physics, "Climate Sensitivity Revisited,"proves beyond any doubt that the UN International Panel on Climate Change's computer models that 'predict' climate change greatly overstate the impact of carbon emissions. In other words, 'man-made' climate change is not real, and yet Congress is ready to reorganize the entire energy sector around the idea.

Climatologist Chip Knappenberger has estimated that the 83 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions mandated under Waxman-Markey by 2050 will result in a drop in climate temperature of only nine-hundredths of 1 degree Fahrenheit. That’s equivalent to just two years of avoided global warming. In short, HR the Waxman-Markey bill will achieve virtually no environmental pay-offs, while imposing huge costs on our businesses, our economy, and each and every one of us as a taxpayer and consumer.

This bill shoots each of us in the foot. This bill was rejected last year, and should again be rejected this year, because it's an economy-killer. It will cost jobs, it will cost progress, and it will cost prosperity. We can’t afford this bill, especially when it means nothing in return but higher costs. The Democrat Majority has announced that amendments to this unreadable to date secret bill can be made no later than 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, June 25th. We expect a floor vote to occur on Friday , so please . . .

Call or email your U.S. Representative and Tell them to vote NO on HR 2454 the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (the Waxman-Markey cap-and-trade bill)!

You may send communications to your Representative through one of the following online :
- Citizen's Against Government Waste
- Freedom Works
OR Call (866) 928-3035 for the House switchboard where you can be transferred to your Representative’s office. Try (866) 928-0525 if you get a busy signal.

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