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A bipartisan group of senators is scheming to sneak through a national tax on energy while America is already facing record-high energy prices!
Despite the fact that inflation is the highest it’s been in forty years and the U.S. economy contracted in the first quarter of 2022, Republican Senators Kevin Cramer, Lindsey Graham, and Bill Cassidy apparently think so. They’re plotting with Democrat Senators Joe Manchin, Chris Coons, and Sheldon Whitehouse (who’s never met an energy tax he didn’t like) to push for a new “carbon border adjustment”.
That’s bad news for household budgets. This so-called “adjustment” is a tax on energy – like oil, gas, and coal – and imports, like fertilizer, steel, aluminum, and concrete. It will drive up the cost of pretty much everything made or transported, including household goods, cars, and food.
The theory behind this tax is that we should make countries like China and India put strict limits on their emissions. The reality is, people in the U.S. are going to pay in the end.
Senator Cramer’s argument for the new energy tax might be the most bizarre of all:
“To me, one of the bigger challenges is that Europe is so far out in front on the whole concept, and it’s hard to tell them to slow down, but at the same time, I’d like to reconcile with them first, and then I think we all move forward better.”
Has Senator Cramer looked at Europe’s energy situation recently?
Half the continent is hoping Russia doesn’t cut off its oil and gas after years of patting themselves on the back for switching to wind and solar. Following a Europe First strategy is the worst possible approach for America.
A Domestic Carbon Tax Trojan Horse
A carbon border adjustment is a tax on imports and would increase costs across the U.S. economy. Because the United States has no unified emissions policy, raising a carbon border adjustment is tantamount to putting a new tariff in place.
The administration of the tax on imports would itself be a costly, exploitable endeavor that could not succeed in adequately accounting for emissions across the hundreds of countries from which the United States imports goods.
This incomplete policy almost begs for an even more damaging economy-wide carbon tax, which would saddle Americans with yet higher costs.
If the Republicans help impose an energy tax on top of the mess we are already in, they will have no one to blame but themselves.
Take Action
Send a message directly to Congress urging your delegation to take a firm stand against inflationary taxes that would hobble American competitiveness!
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