FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE        CONTACT: ROBERT DILLON (202) 224-6977

MARCH 15, 2011                                                  MEGAN HERMANN (202) 224-7875

                                          

 

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.