Legislation moving toward passage by the U.S. House could raise energy prices so high that some poor families "may have to choose between food or fuel," a group of Western business leaders says.
The legislation, now being assembled by leaders in the Congress, would almost certainly force painful energy price hikes on consumers and may even lead to dangerous supply disruptions, if the country goes through a harsh winter, according to Jack Ekstrom, Chair of the Western Business Roundtable.
In a letter this week from the multi-industry Roundtable to Members of Congress, Ekstrom said that “this misguided legislation will harm low-income American families the most as it forces higher energy prices to go even higher — truly forcing some families to choose between food or fuel."
"Credible forecasts are unanimous that our need for affordable and reliable energy will outpace supply. For that reason, increasing American energy production is a must, along with enhancing our energy efficiency and conservation efforts," he said.
"However, this proposed legislation accomplishes nothing but diminishing America’s energy security," Ekstrom said. “Now is not the time to either lock up American energy or impose punitive taxes on American energy producers."
U.S. House leaders say they plan to combine provisions of the Energy Policy Reform and Revitalization Act of 2007 (H.R. 2337), already passed by the House Natural Resources Committee, with provisions of the Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation and Tax Act of 2007 (H.R. 2776), passed by the Ways and Means Committee, into a comprehensive energy bill to be considered by the end of the month.
“While Speaker of the House Pelosi may have recently declared America’s independence from foreign oil, putting forward these so-called 'energy' bills makes it very difficult to argue that the House Leadership's commitment to ending foreign energy dependence is really sincere," said Ekstrom.
Ekstrom said that the expected House legislation:
Would seriously damage America’s ability to meet its growing demand for energy, threatening American families with the very real possibility of dangerous supply disruptions;
Increase our nation’s reliance on costly and unpredictable supplies of foreign energy, which weakens America’s national security and saps the nation's economic strength;
Unfairly singles out energy producers operating in the American West,
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