Issue Position: Cap and Trade
Issue Position
Oppose Job-Killing Cap-and-Trade
I will oppose the current Cap and Trade legislation because it will significantly hike energy costs on Iowa families and businesses, and will kill nearly 2 million jobs, particularly in manufacturing, if enacted. Estimates of the impact on family finances range anywhere from $829 per year up to $3,000, gas prices will increase by 58% and food prices will increase by 20% or more. That's a policy Iowa simply cannot afford. Unfortunately, Congressman Dave Loebsack sided against Iowa families last summer when he voted YES on cap-and-trade (the bill is pending in the Senate).
The increased costs as a result of this legislation are no secret. During the 2008 campaign, President Obama stated cap-and-trade would force energy rates to "skyrocket," and a prominent Democrat leader in Congress called cap-and-trade a "tax, and a great big one."
Cap-and-trade is a flawed means of meeting arbitrary carbon emission goals to lower global temperatures. While I do support efforts to keep our environment clean for future generations, this policy forces American consumers and employers to sacrifice so much in the form of income and jobs, without a guaranteed outcome - especially as major carbon producers like China, Russia and India fail to cap their own emissions. With nearly 85% of our economy powered by carbon-based fuels, especially here in Iowa, higher costs on carbon producers like electric companies or manufacturers will result in either passing those costs onto consumers in the form of higher energy bills, or packing up and moving their jobs to countries where it is cheaper to do business.
Cap-and-trade also tasks the slow-moving federal bureaucracy with deciding what electricity sources into which we will invest time, intellect, and financial resources, creating the possibility that we will miss new technology or research avenues that have yet to be realized. Additionally, it creates new national building mandates that could increase development and other costs here in Iowa, and hurt fixed income seniors and lower income renters.
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