Washington, D.C. – U.S. Representative Charles W. Boustany, Jr., (R-Southwest Louisiana), today urged his colleagues to oppose Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s proposed “Cap and Trade” energy tax bill that is expected to be voted on in the House as early as Friday.

“Responsible energy production in the Gulf of Mexico provides thousands of good-paying jobs,” Boustany said.  “This so-called ‘Cap and Trade’ bill is simply a new, dramatically-higher energy tax.  As the price at the pump starts to rise across the country, Congress should be working to increase American production to reduce our dependence on foreign oil.”

Boustany, a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, questioned Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner earlier this year about the job loss that would be caused by a new tax on American produced energy.  Energy production generates thousands of good-paying, blue-collar jobs along the Gulf Coast, an area that has been battered by natural disasters in recent years.  Boustany asked Secretary Geithner and the Administration to prove their claim of “saving jobs.”

Geithner responded, “…the [oil and gas production] credits must ultimately be financed with taxes that result in underinvestment in other, potentially more productive areas of the economy.”  What Geithner fails to mention – solar energy receives more than $24 in subsidies and wind energy receives more than $23 per megawatt hour according to the Energy Information Agency.

Boustany continues to advocate a comprehensive energy plan to create American jobs and decrease our dependence on foreign sources of fuel as the country transitions to new types of fuel sources over the coming years.

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