Cap and Trade would cost Texans billions

Don’t let the Senate Cap and Tax Us

Gov. Rick Perry is right. Last week, he called the so-called “cap and trade” legislation the largest tax increase in history.

The bill sponsored by Waxman-Markey, has passed the House by a narrow vote on June 26(219 to 212) had 8 Republicans voting for the bill (none from Texas) and 44 Democrats voting against the bill (some from from Texas.)*

Gov. Perry said that the bill would cause the price of gasoline to rise 41 percent, and that it would force many agricultural-based families to lose their farms. Hundreds of thousands of jobs would be lost in Texas in the coming years as a result of the legislation, he said.

Texas Department of Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples said the bill would cost Texas farmers up to $5 billion, and force the nation to outsource agriculture. "We must not, we cannot become dependent on foreign food," he said.

Public Utility Commission Chairman Barry Smitherman cited a report in yesterday's Wall Street Journal that the provisions in the cap and trade bill would increase a typical electric bill $27 a month.

Martin Hubert of the Texas Comptroller's Office reported that 137,000 in Texas would be lost by 2020 alone under the bill, and Workforce Commission Chairman Tom Pauken cited a study indicating that for every "green job" created, 2.2 other jobs are lost in the private sector.


There is a good write-up on it in the Lone Star Report blog:
http://www.lonestarreport.org/Management/BlogManagement/tabid/62/EntryId/260/Perry-chairmen-experts-slam-federal-Cap-and-Trade-legislation.aspx

*Texans D's voting against the bill were:
• Cong. Chet Edwards (Waco)
• Cong. Solomon Ortiz (Corpus Christi)
• Cong. Ciro Rodriquez (San Antonio)

Also see Tom Pauken's perspective on job losses in Texas if this bill passes:
http://americansforprosperity.org/092309-impact-waxman-markey-american-jobs