WASHINGTON,
D.C. – U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, spoke on the Senate floor Tuesday in
support of an amendment to the pending small business bill that would block the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from imposing a costly backdoor energy
tax on the American people.
“I
remain as convinced as ever that the EPA’s effort to impose backdoor climate
regulations is the wrong way, and perhaps the worst way, to address our
nation’s energy and climate challenges,” Murkowski said. “As our country
struggles to recover from the worst economic downturn in modern history – and
does so in the midst of chaotic global events that have driven energy prices to
near their two-year highs – the last thing we should allow is for unelected
bureaucrats to impose new economic burdens on our families and businesses.”
Murkowski,
the top Republican on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, is a
cosponsor of legislation to rein in the EPA attempts to impose climate
regulations on the economy. That legislation, the Energy Tax Prevention Act,
was introduced by Sen. James Inhofe, R-Oklahoma,
the ranking Republican on the Environment and Public Works Committee. It has 43
co-sponsors, including Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia.
Murkowski
said she supports the bill because it protects jobs in America’s manufacturing
sector, protects consumers from higher energy costs, puts Congress in charge of
the nation’s climate change policies, and ensures that the public health
provisions of the Clean Air Act are preserved.
“This
bill puts consumers and their budgets first, and provides the certainty job
creators need to grow and expand their businesses. It also takes power away
from unaccountable bureaucrats and puts it where it belongs: in Congress, where
the people can decide the nation’s climate policy,” Murkowski said.
The bill
leaves all of the essential provisions of the Clean Air Act intact, ensuring
that Americans will be protected from pollution that has direct public health
impacts.
“Imposing
energy taxes through EPA’s command-and-control regulations won’t make Americans
healthier – it will only mean fewer jobs, a higher cost of living and less
growth and innovation,” Murkowski said.
Sen.
Murkowski’s floor speech can be viewed here.
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