Energy Scorecard

Today, the Senate will vote on amendment #928 by Senator Blunt to concurrent resolution S. Con. Res. 11, the fiscal year 2016 budget. The amendment would issue a point of order against any legislative proposal to tax carbon dioxide, thus making it more difficult for Congress to impose a costly and harmful carbon tax on the American people.

A carbon tax would have a disastrous economic impact on American families. For instance, a $25 per ton tax that rises 5 percent each year, as some lawmakers have proposed, would reduce the income of a family of four by $1,900 per year and raise that family’s energy costs by $500 per year (not even counting gasoline), according to the Heritage Foundation. It would also raise gasoline prices by up to 50 cents per gallon, negating many of the economic gains offered by affordable gasoline.

Taxing carbon dioxide would also surely destroy jobs and slow economic growth. An analysis by the National Association of Manufacturers found that a carbon tax could result in lost worker income equivalent to 21 million jobs by 2053. Manufacturing production could decline by as much as 15 percent in energy-intensive sectors, according to NAM. These losses would come as many families are still struggling to recover from the economic recession.

Some proponents suggest implementing a carbon tax while reducing other taxes elsewhere—Congress shouldn’t be fooled. Such efforts to make a carbon tax “revenue neutral” are not realistic and run counter to the stated goals of most carbon tax advocates, who prefer to use the revenues to increase spending, not lower taxes.

Taxing carbon dioxide amounts to a tax on modern life. Nearly everything we do depends on energy sources that emit carbon dioxide. Moreover, a carbon tax would have a disproportionate impact low-income families, who spend a higher share of their income on energy costs. Australians learned this lesson the hard way, scrapping their failed carbon tax experiment last year. Congress would do well to learn from their mistakes.

The American Energy Alliance supports this amendment and will include it in our American Energy Scorecard. YES IS THE PRO-ENERGY, PRO-WORKER, AND PRO-HUMAN FLOURISHING VOTE.