Energy Tax May Not Be A Good Thing

Energy Tax May Not be A Good Thing. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Line On Agriculture.

The Rural America Solutions Group held a press conference on Capitol Hill to highlight the negative impacts of the Democrats’ national energy tax legislation on rural America. This national energy tax, under consideration this week by the Energy and Commerce Committee, would disproportionately spike rural American energy bills, harm agriculture production and threaten small businesses.  Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK) is Co-Chair of the group talks about the Cap & Trade issue.

LUCAS: Approximately a quarter of the American public really has a clue what Cap & Trade is, it might more accurately be described as cap & tax or an energy tax or a carbon tax or for some of you who remember the 1990’s a BTU tax part 2.

Lucas reminded everyone that rural America utilizes an extreme amount of energy in all steps of the ag process.

LUCAS: That’s why this 1000 page bill that literally mentions agriculture 6 times, half of that in reference to an EPA study 4-years ago, the other half to a land buying program is so important. We are at the center of the consumption of energy, the production of energy as we meet the food and fiber needs of this great nation. And we want to make sure in this rural group that those needs are met in rural America.

Group Co-Chair Congressman Doc Hastings from Washington told reporters that it was important for the U.S. to become as energy independent as possible but urged caution.

HASTINGS: The Waxman-Markey Bill is nothing more than a gourmet energy bill. By that I mean it doesn’t take in all of the above that we have been proposing. In fact it narrows it down to a very small working energy producing idea and I don’t think that is what’s in the best interests of this country.

And Hastings went on to say that this group is going to keep an eye on things.

HASTINGS: There is no question that in rural America and as Frank pointed out, the energy producing and consuming part of our country is a fundamental part of our overall economy. And if we don’t take that into consideration when we look at energy in the long run, we are simply overlooking the obvious. This group that we have put together is going to address these issues and we’ll have more and more of these discussions in the future about how the energy bill, the gourmet energy plan that’s being debated right now will affect rural Americans.

That’s today’s Line On Agriculture. I’m Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.