Energy Security Principles

July 29, 2003

Chairman James M. Inhofe

Committee on Environment and Public Works

U.S. Senate

410 Dirksen Senate Office Building

Washington, DC 20510-6175

Dear Chairman Inhofe:

On behalf of the 280,000 members of Citizens for a Sound Economy (CSE), I applaud your remarks outlining the guiding principles of the Committee on Environment and Public Works regarding science and environmental policy. Your emphasis on sound science is critical for the debate on such important issues as global warming. To date, science has yet to provide conclusive evidence of catastrophic global warming or human-induced calamities such as rising sea levels. Yet radical environmental alarmists have repeatedly tried to use global warming scare tactics to enact extreme regulations on business, such as caps on carbon dioxide emissions. If their policies were to become reality, consumers would be forced to pay billions of dollars to comply with excessive, unsound regulations that fail to provide benefits commensurate with their costs.

Many of these alarmists are aggressively pushing policymakers to ratify the Kyoto Protocol, which would effectively ration the use of fossil fuels. Adopting the Kyoto Protocol would, as you know, limit our competitiveness and economic advantages in the global economy while providing no significant benefits. The Energy Information Agency estimated the costs could be as high as $400 billion per year.

Thank you for standing against radical environmental special interests and promoting policies that are based on objective science, an evaluation of the costs and benefits of regulation, and an understanding of the hazards posed by excessive government intervention in the marketplace. In accordance with the principles you have outlined, Citizens for a Sound Economy will issue a key vote notice opposing any amendments to S.14 that attempt to establish caps on carbon dioxide emissions, or establish artificial regulatory restraints in the energy market, such as a renewable portfolio standard, or increased fuel efficiency requirements.

Sincerely,

Paul Beckner

President and CEO

Citizens for a Sound Economy

cc: The U.S. Senate