Cap-And-Trade

Floor Speech

CAP-AND-TRADE

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Mr. FLEMING. Madam Speaker, word has it that the infamous cap-and-trade, or cap-and-tax, bill will be up for a vote this week.

Cap-and-trade, or what has been more appropriately named cap-and-tax, would create $640 billion in new taxes on American businesses and raise electric bills by $3,100 per household per year on average. The revenue from the new tax will be used to pay for various social programs this administration plans to enact such as the government takeover of our health care.

Simply put, cap-and-tax will cap our growth and trade our jobs. Companies looking to invest in our economy will simply move overseas to escape this enormous tax increase.

If you need a tangible example of why this doesn't work, look at Spain, which has been on this plan for 10 years. The result: utility prices have skyrocketed, and the unemployment rate today is 17 1/2 percent. This is our view of the future.

Experts tell us that cap-and-tax will do nothing to cap greenhouse gases, but it will put the United States at a global economic disadvantage because China and India have no reason to enact or follow this policy. We will put Americans out of work but create jobs for developing countries.

We need a smart energy policy that will put Americans to work, not further squeeze the pocketbooks of this country's families.

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