Cap and Trade

Dear Editor,

These days we're seeing a lot of photo-ops and lip service being paid to American businesses by politicians. Don't be fooled. The White House and this Congress are waging war against the private sector.

The latest evidence is New Jersey Sen. Robert Menendez's proposed bill to impose a double tax on U.S. oil and gas producers. This would force American companies to pay a double tax on revenue. The result of this would be higher energy prices for consumers and small-businesses, such as manufacturing and agriculture, and it would put America at a global disadvantage.

No other country does this to its companies. The double-tax would be a subsidy to foreign energy companies like BP, and a gift from Congress to rogue states like Venezuela that own and run their energy producers. As a result, this bill will raise the price of energy for Americans -- both families and business -- and hobble our producers' ability to invest and hire and make our economic recovery even more difficult.

We are pleased Sen. Mike Johanns introduced legislation to prevent a lame-duck session of Congress from subverting the will of the voters, we hope Sen. Ben Nelson will join in this important effort.

Nebraska's federal delegation has generally opposed backwards energy policies like Cap and Trade, but we still face the possibility that Congressional Leadership will attempt to use the lame-duck Congress this fall to push through their liberal agenda, like Cap and Trade.

We need to pay attention to these energy possibilities now, so as not to allow politicians in D.C. to enact an energy policy with no real strategy for the future, no ways to spark innovation, investment or new technologies -- just more taxes.

Brad Stevens

State Director

Americans for

Prosperity- Nebraska