Rep. Cantor Continues Smearing The American Clean Energy And Security Act
On July 2, 2009, Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA) issued a statement in response to the release of new unemployment numbers. In his statement, Rep. Cantor smeared the American Clean Energy and Security Act as a "hard-hitting tax" and a job killer. But in reality, the Democrats' cap-and-trade plan will create 1.7 million American jobs and help the country become more energy independent, all for the price of a postage stamp per day.
Rep. Cantor Falsely Called Cap-And-Trade "A Hard-Hitting Tax Upon Families"
Rep. Cantor: "The American people do not support the radical Cap & Tax [sic] plan which will impose a hard-hitting tax upon families and small businesses..." [Cantor Statement, 7/2/09]
The American Clean Energy and Security Act would only cost the average family about "a postage stamp a day" in 2020, while decreasing costs for low-income Americans.
In 2020, Cap-And-Trade Will Only Cost An Average Of $175 Annually, "About A Postage Stamp A Day." In its analysis of the American Clean Energy and Security Act, the Congressional Budget Office wrote: "On that basis, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that the net annual economy wide cost of the cap-and-trade program in 2020 would be $22 billion-or about $175 per household." Rep. Edward Markey noted it was "the cost of about a postage stamp a day." [CBO, 6/19/09; House Committee on Energy & Commerce Release, 6/20/09]
Cap-And-Trade Would DECREASE Energy Prices For Low-Income Americans. In its analysis of the American Clean Energy and Security Act, the Congressional Budget Office wrote, "households in the lowest income quintile would see an average net benefit of about $40 in 2020." [CBO, 6/19/09; emphasis original]
Rep. Cantor Falsely Claimed Cap-And-Trade Will Cause "Thousands" Of Job Losses
Rep. Cantor: "... costing our struggling economy thousands of jobs." [Cantor Statement, 7/2/09]
As Media Matters Action Network has noted, many of Rep. Cantor's Republican colleagues have gone even further in claiming that cap-and-trade will cause "millions" of job losses. However, investment in clean energy will actually create jobs in every state in the country.
Investment In Clean Energy Technology Will Create Over 1.7 Million American Jobs. According to the Center for American Progress: "Investments in a clean-energy economy will generate major employment benefits for the entire U.S. economy. Our research finds that spending $150 billion on clean-energy investments would create roughly 1.7 million jobs. This is even after assuming a reduction in fossil fuel spending equivalent to the increase in clean-energy investments." [Center for American Progress, The Economic Benefits of Investing in Clean Energy, 6/17/09]
- Virginia Will Gain 45,000 Jobs From An Investment In Clean Energy Technologies. According to the Center for American Progress and the Political Economy Research Institute, Rep. Cantor's home state of Virginia could see "a net increase of about $3.9 billion in investment revenue and 45,000 jobs based on its share of a total of $150 billion in clean-energy investments annually across the country. This is even after assuming a reduction in fossil fuel spending equivalent to the increase in clean energy investments." [Center for American Progress and the Political Economy Research Institute, Clean Energy Investment Create Jobs In Every State, 6/17/09]
Investment in Clean Energy Technology Creates FOUR TIMES As Many Jobs As An Investment In Oil & Gas. According to the Center for American Progress, "spending $1 million on energy efficiency and renewable energy produces a much larger expansion of employment than spending the same amount on fossil fuels or nuclear energy. Among fossil fuels, job creation in coal is about 32 percent greater than that for oil and natural gas. The employment creation for energy efficiency-retrofitting and mass transit-is 2.5 times to four times larger than that for oil and natural gas. With renewable energy, the job creation ranges between 2.5 times to three times more than that for oil and gas." [Center for American Progress, The Economic Benefits of Investing in Clean Energy, 6/17/09]
Investment In Renewable Energy Has Already Salvaged Many Manufacturing Facilities Closed During Economic Downturn. Across America, factories and plants abandoned by the old economy have been re-tooled and re-opened to satisfy the growing demand for new energy technologies. For instance, once hopeless manufacturing plants in Pennsylvania, Iowa, and Michigan have re-energized their communities by creating jobs and leading the charge toward a new energy future. [Bloomberg, 4/2/09; Star Tribune, 4/22/09; Grand Rapids Press, 3/6/08]
