An “Improvement” to Cash-and-Kerry...

Washington, DC – In response to media reports regarding Senator Kerry’s global warming legislation and Senator Lindsay Graham’s suggestion that the revival of the “Gang of 10” plan could serve as a way forward, Thomas J. Pyle, president of the American Energy Alliance (AEA), issued the following statement:

“The so-called ‘Gang of 10’ plan was a bad idea last year and a terrible one this year. Advocating this plan as a possible compromise on energy rationing legislation is both highly misleading and fundamentally irresponsible, as it would make 78 percent of the entire outer continental shelf (OCS) permanently off limits to energy exploration and production. Make no mistake, now that the legislative and executive moratoria on offshore energy development have been removed, there is only one impediment to increased offshore leasing, exploration and production: the Obama Interior Department.”

According to an analysis of the “Gang of Ten” proposal, which was originally drafted in September 2008, if adopted as written, the proposal would increase corporate tax burdens by approximately $13.57 billion over 10 years, result in roughly 637,000 job losses over 10 years, and reduce household earnings by $34.97 billion.

“Cap-and-trade alone is a massive energy tax that will adversely affect every segment of the economy,” continued Pyle. “Adding this job killing tax increase would only make a bad bill worse.”