Key Vote “NO” on the Udall/Platts Renewable Energy Standard Amendment

On behalf of nearly 850,000 FreedomWorks members nationwide, I write to urge you to VOTE NO on the Udall/Platts Renewable Energy Standard amendment to the energy package being considered in the House this week. The proposed amendment would create a mandate requiring the use of renewable portfolio standard for generating electricity starting in 2010 with the goal of forcing electric utilities to produce 20 percent of their energy from renewable sources by 2020.

Under this amendment, if electric utilities cannot produce their own renewable resources, they must purchase the renewable resources from other generators in the form of utility credits or must simply pay the difference to the federal government. The results of this market rigging amendment would be higher costs for generating electricity, which, in turn, would be passed along to consumers. Different states have different renewable resources and capacities to produce energy from such sources. By enacting federal mandates, many states will lose out in the competition as electricity producers will move to areas where the cost of business is lower.

This amendment raises the cost of electricity for consumers.  Congress needs to consider the economic impact of this proposal and let the market determine the price of energy as well as which resources are used. We will count your vote on the Udall/Platts Renewable Energy Standard amendment as a KEY VOTE when calculating the FreedomWorks Economic Scorecard for 2007. The FreedomWorks Economic Scorecard is used to determine eligibility for the Jefferson Award, which recognizes members of Congress with voting records that support economic freedom.  

Sincerely,

 

Matt Kibbe
President and CEO
FreedomWorks