WASHINGTON – Congresswoman Lynn Jenkins today released the following statement after voting against H.R. 2454, the American Clean Energy and Security Act. The legislation passed the in the House of Representatives by a vote of 219-212.   
 
“In the midst of this severe recession, Congress should be focused on enacting policies that will put folks back to work and grow the economy. This legislation does exactly the opposite.  It creates a national energy tax that will drive millions of American jobs overseas and will unfairly burden Kansans with increased energy and gasoline prices. At a time when Kansas families are struggling, hitting them with a job-killing national energy tax is absolutely wrong.

“Folks from Kansas don’t have the luxury of taking the subway to work. They spend nearly 60 percent more on fuel and travel than folks living in cities on the coasts. Kansas farmers and ranchers will see their input costs skyrocket and put them at a competitive disadvantage to farmers in nations whose governments will not place these burdens on their farm. This misguided legislation will hit my constituents in Kansas the hardest.

“We absolutely must take better care of our environment, but instead of hitting every American with a burdensome, job-killing national energy tax, a better solution would be to focus on an all-of-the-above energy plan that increases our energy independence, conserves our environment and actually creates jobs to grow the economy.”