Key Vote YES on the Scalise Carbon Tax Amendment

As one of our millions of FreedomWorks members nationwide, I urge you to contact your representative and urge him or her to vote YES on the Scalise Amendment to the REINS Act (H.R. 367).  This amendment would prevent any fee, levy, or price from being attached to carbon dioxide emissions.

A carbon tax would cripple the American economy, as 83 percent of the energy powering America comes from burning fossil fuels. By instituting a carbon tax, a substantial cost would be placed on everything America produces and consumes. According to the National Association of Manufactures, the output in energy-intensive sectors could drop by as much as 15 percent and 7.7 percent in non-energy intensive sectors. The effect on industry is undeniably dramatic. 

What is worse and often overlooked is the carbon tax’s impact on lower income families who can least afford to pay the increased cost. As a percentage of income, low-income families pay 2.5 percent of their after-tax income on energy compared to less than a percent for the highest earners. Low income families already pay a disproportionately high percentage of their income on energy, there’s no need to increase their burden.

In all, this tax would undermine growth across the economy by raising net energy costs and making businesses less competitive in global markets.  In reality, a carbon tax is not a fee on big business, as progressives like to frame it, but a tax increase on the entire energy consuming economy. 

I urge you to call your representative and ask him or her to vote YES on the Scalise Carbon Tax Amendment to the REINS Act. We may count their vote as a KEY VOTE when calculating FreedomWorks’ Economic Freedom Scorecard for 2013. The Scorecard is used to determine eligibility for the FreedomFighter Award, which recognizes Members of Congress who consistently vote to support economic freedom.

Sincerely,

Matt Kibbe

President and CEO 

FreedomWorks