CSE Key Votes Cloture on S. 14, the “Energy Policy Act of 2003”

July 22, 2003

Dear Senator:

On behalf of the 280,000 members of Citizens for a Sound Economy (CSE), I urge you to vote YES on cloture on S. 14, the “Energy Policy Act of 2003.”

While we are concerned with several elements of S. 14 as it is currently written, it does not appear that further debate by the full Senate will improve the bill. Indeed, our assessment of the pending amendments to S. 14 is that the vast majority constitute bad policy. That’s why CSE is urging a Yes vote to end debate and move the bill forward.

Voting for cloture will serve to terminate a number of amendments designed to create new mandates and regulations for the market place. Most of these amendments will merely increase energy costs and further distort energy pricing. The proposed amendments dealing with climate change are particularly troubling. Evidence of catastrophic effects of climate change created by human activity is still not clear. Even if it could be shown that climate change is a real threat, the measures incorporated in these amendments are not likely to have much effect on reducing that threat, but they are certain to be extremely costly to American consumers and to our economy. The Senate has unanimously rejected the ill-advised Kyoto Protocol, and the debate on S. 14 should not be used as a back-door way to impose Kyoto-style mandates.

CSE will count the vote on cloture on S. 14 as a KEY VOTE to be reported to our members in your state. This KEY VOTE will be used to determine your eligibility for our Jefferson Award, to be presented at the conclusion of the 108th Congress. This award is provided to those legislators who espouse the CSE principles of limited government, lower taxes, and more freedom.

Sincerely,

Paul Beckner,

President and CEO