More than Two Dozen Organizations Express 'Grave Concerns' as U.S. House Debates National Energy Policy

As the U.S. House of Representatives considers numerous legislative proposals on a national energy policy, more than two dozen state and federal organizations, including the Center for Individual Freedom (CFIF), this week expressed "grave concerns" about specific proposals and the direction of the debate.

In a letter (.pdf) delivered to every Member of the U.S. House of Representatives this week, the organizations wrote, "If truth in advertising applied to legislation, these proposals would be called the 'Making Energy Less Affordable Act.'"

The letter was also developed into a print ad (.pdf), which ran in Capitol Hill newspapers, Roll Call and The Hill.  The ad was sponsored by the American Conservative Union.

Chief among the organizations' concerns are:

• The Senate-passed 36 billion gallon renewable fuels mandate:
  The letter and ad state that such a mandate is the equivalent of "corporate welfare joined to a Soviet-style production quota system."  They go on to warn that such a mandate would result in consumers "taking a triple hit -- once at the gas pump, again at the grocery store, and a third time when they pay income taxes."  Not to mention, "...diverting ever larger amounts of U.S. grain from food to fuel would... threaten millions of hungry people [worldwide] who depend on imports of American grain for their survival."


• Mandates on household appliance efficiency standards:
  The letter and ad note that "Consumer Reports recently studied washing machines that meet current federal...standards...and found that unless you can pay $900 or more for a washing machine, you can no longer buy one that will get your clothes clean in just one wash."


• Raising the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards to 35 miles per gallon by 2020:
  The organizations noted that "...the current (27.5 mpg) fuel economy standard already contributes to thousands of deaths each year due to vehicle downsizing, according to a 2002 study by the National Research Council."


• A renewable portfolio standard for electricity:
  "This provision would force up electricity rates in America's industrial heartland, pushing manufacturing jobs overseas."


• The need to develop more domestic energy:
  The organizations pointed out that "H.R. 2337 would gut provisions in the 2005 Energy Policy Act intended to expedite energy development on U.S. public lands. Its penalty structure...would likely scare off most potential energy producers..."


• And, proposals permitting "the public" to sue federal agencies over greenhouse gas emissions:
  H.R. 2635 would allow "the public to sue [federal] agencies for failure to [achieve net zero emissions by 2050]...transferring millions of dollars annually from taxpayers to anti-growth, anti-energy...groups."

The organizations signing on to the letter and print ad, in addition to CFIF, included, American Conservative Union, Competitive Enterprise Institute, National Taxpayers Union, Americans for Tax Reform, Freedom Works, Frontiers of Freedom, 60 Plus Association and National Center for Public Policy Research, among others.

• To view the full text of the letter, click here (.pdf).
• To view the print ad, click here (.pdf).