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Jordan Lambasts Energy Bill |
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Tuesday, 30 June 2009 |
By MIKE BURKHOLDER
Managing Editor
ST. MARYS — As a controversial energy bill makes its way to the Senate floor, a local Congressman says the measure is bad for Americans and will hurt the nation’s competitiveness in the global economy.
“When that vote was over, I was walking off the floor and really got this bad feeling in my gut this is a bad piece of legislation,” U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Urbana, said of the Cap-and-Trade measure passed Friday by the House. “It’s not good for the country and not good for the economy.”
Jordan, long an opponent of the measure that seeks to reduce the nation’s carbon footprint, said the bill unfairly targets residents in the Midwest who rely on fossil fuels for energy. Instead, Jordan railed against House Democrats for pursuing what he called a tax hike.
“Hopefully the Senate will not pass this thing and we can keep this huge tax from being placed,” Jordan said. “This is not the direction we want to go.”
The measure passed by a vote of 219-212, with 44 Democrats joining a majority of Republicans in voting against the measure. However eight members of the GOP joined the Democrats in voting for the measure.
“It’s nice that they supported us but frankly we needed 46,” Jordan said. “Hopefully we can stop it.”
U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat, has previously spoke out against the measure during media teleconferences. Attempts to reach Brown for comment were unsuccessful as of press time.
“He has been pretty good in the past saying he was against it,” Jordan said. “I hope Senator Brown opposes it.”
Given the state of the economy, Jordan said any further hindrance on taxpayers could disrupt any recovery efforts. Proponents of the measure claim it will create millions of jobs in green energy fields — an assertion Jordan questioned.
“We should be moving in a direction that allows us to use our natural resources and energy we have in the U.S. to meet our energy needs,” Jordan said. “What scares me is it will send jobs overseas when we don’t want that to happen.”
Critics also claim the measure puts the United States at a disadvantage globally because China, India and Brazil have scoffed at the idea of limiting greenhouse gases.
“This is going to hurt our ability to compete,” Jordan said. “I have that sickening feeling that we are making it more difficult for us to remain the economic superpower of the world. This makes it that much more difficult to remain in that position.”
Midwest Electric CEO Rick Gerdeman agreed with Jordan’s comments and said the measure will adversely impact residents in Ohio. Gerdeman said the measure is nothing more than a “revenue grab” for politicians in Washington, D.C.
“It’s not going to be effective against climate change,” Gerdeman said. “What it stands for is an opportunity for Washington to grab onto a significant amount of revenue, as much as $847 billion. It pushes the electric co-ops to become glorified tax collectors.”
While Senators consider the bill, Gerdeman said he plans to continue a public information campaign against the measure.
“We are doing our best to tell the public so no one is duped by what they are hearing,” Gerdeman said. “They need to understand this legislation and be awfully mad if this passes.”
The legislation would require the U.S. to reduce carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions by 17 percent from 2005 levels by 2020 and by about 80 percent by mid-century. That was slightly more aggressive than President Obama originally wanted, 14 percent by 2020 and the same 80 percent by mid-century.
U.S. carbon dioxide emissions from the burning of fossil fuels are rising at about 1 percent a year and are predicted to continue increasing without mandatory limits.
Under the bill, the government would limit heat-trapping pollution from factories, refineries and power plants and issue allowances for polluters. Most of the allowances would be given away, but about 15 percent would be auctioned by bid and the proceeds used to defray higher energy costs for lower-income individuals and families.
— The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 15 July 2009 )
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