Cap and Trade Bill Passes in the House

June 26, 2009

Washington, D.C. – The “American Clean Energy and Security Act”, H.R. 2454, passed by a close vote of 219 to 212, despite Congressman Glenn “GT” Thompson, R-Howard, voting a resounding “No”. Forty-four democrats also opposed the bill.

Thompson has campaigned against this bill, stating “This bill may be the largest tax increase in American history and it disproportionately punishes rural America and the poor who will not be able to afford the jump in gasoline prices, fuel oil, natural gas and all the items made from those products. Fertilizer, for example, is produced using natural gas. Costs for agricultural products will rise and jobs will be lost,” says Thompson. “But don’t just take my words, President Barack Obama, while still a candidate, said that under his cap and trade utility plan utility rates would ‘necessarily skyrocket,’ and that those costs would be passed along to consumers.”

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission warned in a letter and Thompson has quoted many times, “if the Waxman-Markey bill were to pass, Pennsylvania is looking at a bleak scenario by 2020: a net loss of as many as 66,000 jobs, a sizeable hike in the electric bills of residential customers, an increase in natural gas prices, and significant downward pressure on our gross state product.”

Thompson admits that the bill comes with a funding section to help Americans who lose their jobs, when, and if, this bill becomes law.