Friday, March 4, 2011

Isakson Cosponsors Legislation to Stop Administration's Backdoor Push for Cap and Trade

Bill Would Prevent EPA from Imposing New Energy Taxes on America's Families, Businesses Through Regulation

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., this week joined more than two dozen of his Senate colleagues in cosponsoring a bill to stop President Obama's backdoor push to impose cap-and-trade regulations that would kill jobs in America's manufacturing sector and result in higher energy costs for American families.

S.482, the Energy Tax Prevention Act of 2011, would also put Congress in charge of the nation's climate change policies, rather than unelected bureaucrats at the Environmental Protection Agency and other federal agencies, while also ensuring that the public health provisions of the Clean Air Act are preserved. The legislation comes in response to the EPA moving forward in January 2011 with regulations on greenhouse gas emissions.

"The last thing America's families and businesses need during this recession is a backdoor regulatory effort by the Administration to implement cap and trade. This legislation ensures that the Administration will not be able to regulate what it could not legislate, while also ensuring that they will not add new burdensome, job-killing energy taxes," said Isakson. "I fully support this effort, and I will do all that I can to repeal existing onerous regulations and to prevent the Administration from imposing new taxes through more regulations."

Senator James Inhofe, R-Okla., ranking member on the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, introduced the Energy Tax Prevention Act of 2011, which has garnered support from 42 cosponsors in the Senate. House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich., and House Energy and Power Subcommittee Chairman Ed Whitfield, R-Ky., also introduced the legislation in the House.

Isakson has been a strong opponent of cap and trade and the new energy taxes that would result from overregulation of carbon emissions. He has previously voted to stop the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act. Isakson believes that it is the responsibility of Congress to address the issue of climate change.