While Murkowski resolution failed, good news emerges from Senate debate

Washington, DC – This afternoon the U.S. Senate voted down a measure sponsored by Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) that would have stripped the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of its authority to criminalize carbon emissions from stationary sources. Stationary sources include power plants, hospitals, schools, factories and other large buildings that emit above a politically determined level of carbon dioxide emissions on an annual basis.

The measure, called a Resolution of Disapproval, is part of the Congressional Review Act (CRA) that allows the legislative branch to overturn regulations made by unelected bureaucrats.  The resolution would have only required a simple majority (51) of votes for passage. The Murkowski Resolution was voted down 47-53.

Thomas J. Pyle, president of the American Energy Alliance, an advocacy group that urged Senators to vote YES on this resolution, issued this statement following the vote:

“Unelected bureaucrats, who aren’t accountable to anyone, are the last people in this town who should be given the reins to regulate every sector of our economy. And while the Murkowski Resolution would have begun the process to overturn this authority, a majority of the Senate, aided by a well-financed anti-energy movement, narrowly won this battle.  

“However, the Senate did send an important message today. The Murkowski Resolution fell a few votes short, but when added together with a similar proposal sponsored by Senator Rockefeller, over 51 senators are now on the record opposing EPA’s job-killing authority to regulate carbon emissions. This is good news.

“That said, and contrary to the comments made by Senators from both parties on the Floor today, Congress is equally ill-equipped as the EPA to regulate carbon. Criminalizing economic growth, transportation, and domestic manufacturing, as cap-and-trade or a carbon tax would do, is misguided policy regardless of whether it originates from the EPA or the Congress.”

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Washington, DC - Following numerous press reports that Senators John Kerry (D-Mass.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) submitted their climate change legislation to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for analysis, the American Energy Alliance filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with the EPA to obtain a copy of the legislation.

 "The American people have the right to know what's in this bill," said Thomas J. Pyle, president of AEA, a market-based energy advocacy organization. "While Senators Graham, Kerry and Lieberman have been meeting behind closed doors with the utility industry, big business, environmental groups and big oil, the American consumer has been shut out of the process.  Not surprisingly, it is the American consumer that will foot the bill when this legislation forces gasoline, diesel and utility bills to increase." 

Senators Kerry, Graham and Lieberman have worked for nearly six and a half months to craft legislation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase the price of coal, oil, and natural gas - 85 percent of our energy supply. While the specific contents of this legislation seem to be top secret, we do know that for any energy rationing scheme to work, it will lead to considerably higher energy costs for American families and businesses.

"We filed this request on behalf of the American people," continued Pyle.  "Since Senators Graham, Kerry and Lieberman have refused to share this job-killing legislation with the public, maybe the "most open and transparent" administration in history will honor our request. After all, what do they have to hide?" 

 Following is an excerpt of the FOIA request:

Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. § 552, I hereby request a copy of any and all energy legislation from Senator Kerry, or Senator Graham, or Senator Lieberman, or all three collectively, sent to EPA to be analyzed or modeled within the past month. This includes requests from staffers working for Senators Kerry, Graham, or Lieberman. Colloquially, this draft legislation is known as the Kerry-Graham-Lieberman climate bill and various media sources (including the Washington Post, L.A. Times and Politico) have reported draft legislation has been sent to EPA to be modeled. 

As President Obama has emphasized, "a democracy requires accountability, and accountability requires transparency," and "the Freedom of Information Act . . . is the most prominent expression of a profound national commitment to ensuring open Government." Accordingly, the President has directed that FOIA "be administered with a clear presumption: In the face of doubt, openness prevails" and that a "presumption of disclosure should be applied to all decisions involving FOIA."

To view the entire FOIA request, click HERE.

Updated 4/30/10: AEA submitted a FOIA request to the Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration (EIA) in addition to the EPA FOIA request. 

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Washington, DC - The American Energy Alliance (AEA), a non-profit organization that educates and engages the public on benefits of market-based energy policy, today congratulated Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) for siding with his constituents and opting out of one of the most economically damaging pieces of legislation this country has ever seen.

"Senator Graham has spent nearly six and a half months negotiating behind closed doors with big business, special interests and rent-seeking lobbyists to increase the price of 85 percent of the energy Americans use daily," said Thomas J. Pyle, president of AEA. "And the Senator should be congratulated today for apparently backing out of this job killing legislation."

AEA was the first organization to launch a comprehensive media campaign in South Carolina shortly after Senator Graham announced his intent to draft a national energy tax with Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.). This campaign, which ran statewide, was the beginning of a multi-pronged strategy to educate Palmetto State voters on the negative economic impacts such a plan would have on their state. This proposal, while not yet revealed publicly, was reported  to have included a renewable electricity standard (RES), which is the mandated use of expensive forms of electricity and a increase in the federal gasoline and diesel tax, which some have coined the "Graham Gas Tax." 

"By walking away from this effort, it is clear that Senator Graham chose to listen to his constituents, who urged him to stay away from this legislation. We hope that Senator Graham sticks to his guns and remains on the side of the American people who oppose cap-and-trade and a national energy tax," concluded Pyle.

More on AEA's efforts in South Carolina: 

Press Release:  Radio Campaign Seeks to Educate South Carolina Voters on Consequences of Cap-and-Trade

Media Alert: In the Crosshairs: AEA Launches another TV Ad in SC focused on Sen. Graham's Cap-and-Trade Support 

Graham's World vs. Real World: Sen. Graham Cap-and-Tax Double Talk Continues

Thirteen Senators Seek to Shut Down U.S. Coal Industry

Washington, DC – According to reports , thirteen U.S. senators today urged Majority Leader Reid and the leading authors of global warming legislation, Senators Kerry, Graham, and Lieberman, to specifically grant the EPA authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from coal-fired power plants, in addition to other provisions included the bill, such as cap-and-trade and a renewable electricity mandate, which would also target coal-fired plants. Thomas J. Pyle, president of the non-partisan American Energy Alliance (AEA), released the following statement in response to the senators’ letter :


“This is just another in a long line of heavy-handed attempts to increase the government's control over energy markets. If the signatories of this letter, clear opponents of affordable and reliable energy, really believed in the efficacy of “pricing carbon,” heavy-handed legislation would be more than enough to meet their goals.


"Apparently, it is not enough to make the price of electricity necessarily “skyrocket” through cap-and-trade legislation or a federal renewable mandate. It seems the real objective of these policymakers is to destroy the coal industry while hiding behind the EPA, an unelected bureaucracy. If these anti-energy advocates are successful in killing the coal industry, they’ll take with it affordable, reliable domestic energy and countless American jobs. EPA should be held accountable by Congress, not empowered by them."

Non-partisan group extends education, advocacy campaign for fourth consecutive week in Palmetto State

Washington, DC – As U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) continues to work to enact a job-killing cap-and-trade bill as part of larger global warming policy, the American Energy Alliance (AEA) – a non-partisan, non-profit advocacy organization– launched yet another television commercial today aimed at educating South Carolina residents about how cap-and-trade will increase energy prices, weaken America’s ability to compete in the global economy and cost good-paying jobs.

Thomas J. Pyle, AEA’s president, issued this statement:

"As Congress continues to work to ration and increase our energy resources through cap-and-trade, South Carolinians deserve to have all the facts and know where and why their elected officials in Washington stand on these critical issues. Legislation outlined by Senator Graham will force energy and electricity prices to skyrocket. And worse, these heavy-handed proposals will cost even more American jobs. While some in Congress have a ‘Washington position’ and a ‘homestate position,’ the facts about cap-and-trade do not change."

Continued Pyle: "Senator Graham continues to tout ‘offshore drilling’ as part of his plan. And while this rhetoric is appealing, it discounts the fact that Congress has retired the offshore drilling ban, thanks in large part to the clear majority of Americans who favor responsible offshore energy development. If Senator Graham was sincere in his desire to increase domestic energy exploration, he'd urge the president and Interior secretary to do so immediately -- not push a new national energy tax called cap-and-trade."

NOTE: AEA launched an education and advocacy campaign in South Carolina on October 22. The objective of this multi-media campaign is to engage residents of South Carolina and arm them with the facts about global warming legislation Senator Graham is advocating. AEA is a non-partisan, non-profit energy advocacy group that engages in grassroots advocacy to promote market-based solutions to our nation’s energy and environmental challenges.

 

WASHINGTON- In honor of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works’ passage of the Kerry-Boxer cap-and-trade bill, the American Energy Alliance (AEA) today released its top 10 reasons to support cap-and-trade:

10) It’ll be the largest tax increase in history and will help pay for the government takeover of health care.

9) America’s unemployment rate is only 10 percent. Higher energy prices and the resulting transfer of American businesses overseas will help us double it.

8) The U.S. has been the world’s number one economic superpower for long enough. It’s time to lie down and give someone else a turn.

7) Expensive energy is good. Really expensive energy is even better.

6) By making it more expensive to produce more of the vast amounts of American oil we have right at home and transitioning to affordable, commercial-scale alternatives that don't exist, we can end our dependence on foreign oil in 10 years!

5) Spending billions of taxpayer dollars to create temporary, government jobs at the expense of long-term, private sector jobs not only makes perfect sense, it’ll be a boon to the nation’s struggling economy. Just look at Spain .

4) Energy is the lifeblood of the American economy – it is, literally, the capacity to do work. Hence, making American energy more expensive and less available will strengthen our economy and enhance our capacity to put Americans to work. Get it?

3) California and Massachusetts have adopted similar policies and they’re now enjoying some of the highest energy prices and unemployment rates in the nation. We need to level the playing field so every state can reap the benefits of expensive energy and abundant joblessness.

2) It will create millions of well-paying green jobs without destroying the jobs of Americans who are currently employed. Who put the green welfare provisions in there, anyway?

1) Reducing economic growth while achieving virtually no environmental benefit is simply a good idea . Don’t ask questions.

WASHINGTON- As the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works continues to discuss cap-and-trade, the American Energy Alliance (AEA) released its top 10 questions for the committee’s members.

10) Do you think Americans are not paying enough for gasoline, electricity, food, clothing, and just about everything else?

9)  Was President Obama just kidding when he said, “Under my plan of a cap-and-trade system, electricity prices would necessarily skyrocket”?  What about the President’s statement about cap-and-trade bankrupting coal companies – companies that provide nearly 50 percent of our nation’s electricity? 

8) Contrary to recent CBO estimates that rely on a theoretically unsupported assumption about the economic impact of free allowances on U.S. households, a recent study found that the lowest-earning 80 percent of families would bear the entire net burden of the cost of cap-and-trade legislation, while rent-seeking corporations and the wealthiest 20 percent would profit.  Which of the rent-seeking corporations you have met with would benefit the most from a cap-and-trade system that punishes the poor?

7) There’s been lots of talk recently about EPA’s economic analysis of cap-and-trade’s impact on American families. Assuming you’ve read the latest report, can you confirm for the record that the agency’s cost estimates are founded on the assumption that 100 or more new nuclear power facilities will be opened and in operation by 2030? Can you confirm further that we haven’t opened a single new nuclear power facility in 30 years?

6) Can you explain exactly how the inclusion of "Worker Adjustment Assistance” is not a clear admission that the bill would put Americans out of work?   Do you believe that destroying Americans’ jobs are putting them on green welfare is an effective, responsible method of putting “millions of people back to work?”

5) Speaking of green welfare, have you seen the recent study from Germany which found that the German government’s support of green energy between 2000 and 2010 is expected to exceed $100 billion?  A similar expenditure in the U.S. would amount to half a trillion dollars.  Would that be enough?  How much government support for green energy and temporary green jobs is enough? 

4) Speaking of temporary ‘green jobs’ created by government fiat, have you had a chance to read the study from Spain detailing how that nation’s “green jobs” program destroyed 2.2 private sector jobs for every green job it created?  It also found that 9 out of 10 green jobs created no longer exist.  Does this sound like a model the U.S. should follow?   

3) Can you explain why it makes good economic and practical sense to increase the price of 84 percent of the energy we use while forcing American taxpayers to use more of the most expensive and least reliable sources at our disposal and handing out billions more of their tax dollars to government-dependent wind and solar companies in hopes that wind and solar might , possibly, someday soon, be capable of providing a full one percent of the energy that fuels America’s economy?     

2) Did you know that joblessness is Oregon has more than doubled in the years since the State’s governor signed into law a massive increase in taxpayer subsidies for ‘green energy’, a program that is expected to cost Oregon taxpayers $478 million by 2013?  Is this the kind of ‘green energy economy’ envisioned by this legislation? 

1) Unemployment in the U.S. approaching 10 percent.  How much higher do you think it should go?  If you could choose, which overseas nation would you send Americans’ jobs to?

South Carolina voters deserve to know where Sen. Graham stands on cap-and-trade

WASHINGTON – As Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) continues to defend his support for a job-killing national energy tax, the American Energy Alliance (AEA) today examined some of his most recent public statements.

NOTE: AEA is currently engaged in an ongoing cap-and-trade advocacy and educational campaign in South Carolina. Earlier this week, the free market energy group launched a statewide television and radio campaign questioning Senator Graham's support for a national energy tax. Click HERE to view this ad.