House Committee to vote on H.R. 910, the Energy Tax Prevention Act of 2011, on 10 March 2011

EPA is out of control and hopefully this will pass the House and the Senate will get on board but we have our doubts that this anti-energy President will sign the legislation.

The Energy Tax Prevention Act is designed to stop the EPA from using the Clean Air Act to unilaterally impose greenhouse gases regulations to affect climate change. Unless Congress intervenes, the EPA’s efforts to impose a cap-and-trade agenda threaten to drive gas prices even higher, increase utility rates, send manufacturing jobs overseas, and hamstring our economic recovery.

EPA for years has been causing energy prices to rise, and they are at it again. We would personally like to see the EPA disbanded and their duties placed under a cabinet secretary instead of a separate agency. With the federal payroll climbing higher then since Bill Clinton when he started the paring down of Government, this would be a first step in getting the amount of government employees under control.

Makes you wonder if the increase in jobs monthly are federal jobs?

Energy and Power Subcommittee Announces Vote on Bill to Stop EPA From Driving up Gasoline and Energy Prices, Harming Job Creation

March 8, 2011

WASHINGTON, DC – The Energy and Commerce Committee’s Energy and Power Subcommittee, chaired by Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-KY), has scheduled a vote on H.R. 910, the Energy Tax Prevention Act of 2011. The subcommittee markup will be held on Thursday, March 10, 2011 at 9:00 a.m. in room 2123 of the Rayburn House Office Building.

The legislation was first released in discussion draft form on February 2 and formally introduced by bipartisan House leaders on March 3. The Energy Tax Prevention Act is designed to stop the EPA from using the Clean Air Act to unilaterally impose greenhouse gases regulations to affect climate change. Unless Congress intervenes, the EPA’s efforts to impose a cap-and-trade agenda threaten to drive gas prices even higher, increase utility rates, send manufacturing jobs overseas, and hamstring our economic recovery.

Thursday’s markup is being held after three separate hearings this year on EPA’s greenhouse gas regulations and their effect on jobs and American energy prices. It also follows a separate hearing on the effects of Middle East events on U.S. energy markets, which shined a spotlight on growing concerns with rising fuel prices, something that would be exacerbated by EPA’s actions.

Previous congressional efforts to regulate and put a price on greenhouse gas emissions were estimated to increase the price of a gallon of gasoline by 19 cents in 2015 and 95 cents in 2050. While estimates are not available for the full cost of the litany of regulations being proposed and contemplated by the EPA – in large measure because the EPA has refused to conduct an economic analysis – per Lisa Jackson herself, greenhouse gas regulation is expected to impose even greater economic costs than the bills that ultimately failed in Congress. A Senate report examining the consequences of the Waxman-Markey cap-and-trade bill projected $43.6 billion in additional transportation fuel costs in 2020, $78.1 billion in 2030, $128 billion in 2040, and $215.8 billion in 2050. The costs associated with a cap-and-tax regime would send the economy into a permanent recession.

In drafting the Energy Tax Prevention Act (H.R. 910), Upton and Whitfield worked to ensure EPA’s ability and obligation to regulate and mitigate air pollutants like particulates that cause soot, ozone that causes smog, and almost 200 other air pollutants would be protected and preserved. H.R. 910 merely ensures that the Clean Air Act is not misused for a carbon cap-and-tax purpose it was never designed for.

The subcommittee vote is open to the public and press. Opening statements, amendments, and a live webcast will be available online at http://energycommerce.house.gov.


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