[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 38 (Wednesday, March 4, 2009)]
[House]
[Page H2950]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   DEMOCRATS' CAP-AND-TRADE AMOUNTS TO A STEALTH ENERGY TAX ON EVERY 
                                AMERICAN

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Burton) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, the President of the United 
States stood here in the well the other night, and one of the things he 
said that was met with a great deal of applause was that there wasn't 
going to be one dime, not one dime of new taxes on anybody making under 
$250,000 a year, any family making under $250,000 a year.
  And yet what was omitted from his talk was the cost to every single 
person because of a tax increase that's kind of hidden. It's called the 
cap-and-trade tax increase. And it's going to cost about $65 billion a 
year. And it deals with carbon dioxide emissions.
  Every time we use coal or gas or any substance to create energy in 
this country, it emits carbon dioxide. And so $65 billion in new taxes 
are going to be levied on business that will be passed on to consumers 
in the form of higher prices on their electricity, their gasoline, 
their oil, their food and almost anything they buy, because anything 
they buy is made from energy. And the energy in this country is going 
to be taxed up to $65 billion a year with this cap-and-trade tax that 
the President's got in his budget. The American people simply don't 
realize that.
  Now, there was an interview that was on Fox the other night. And I 
want to read to you just a little bit about that. First of all, let me 
just say that Peter Orzag, the former CBO Director and current OMB 
Director down at the White House, verified that energy taxes designed 
to decrease carbon emissions like those in President Obama's budget 
will be passed on to American families, and this will be passed on in 
the form of higher prices to every family in the form of higher prices 
for energy, food, lodging and everything else.
  Senator Obama, when he was in the Senate, admitted during the 
presidential campaign, said, ``Under my plan of cap-and-trade, 
electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket.''
  And on Fox the other night, Jim Angle was reporting on the cap-and-
trade issue, and he said, ``Almost every activity in the U.S. economy 
emits carbon dioxide, but President Obama wants to impose a cap on 
total emissions throughout the economy and charge industry a new tax of 
at least $65 billion a year for their current activities.''
  Now, when the President said he's not going to tax anybody, any 
family making under $250,000 a year, that's erroneous, because when you 
take the tax they're going to have to pay indirectly for the cost of 
food, lodging, energy of any kind, it's going to result in thousands 
and thousands of dollars to every family.
  When you turn on your lights in your house, when this budget is 
passed, you will be paying much more money for your electricity. When 
you buy gasoline at the pump, you're going to pay more for your 
gasoline. When you get fuel oil or coal or anything else that you use 
for energy, you're going to be paying because of this tax that's being 
passed in this budget by this President.
  And it's going to be on everybody, not just the people making under 
$250,000. It's going to be on everybody. Every man, woman and child who 
lives in this country that uses energy will be taxed. And I think the 
American people need to know that. That's why I'm down here on the 
floor, because when they say they're not going to raise your taxes, and 
that everybody making under $250,000 is not going to pay one dime more 
in taxes, they're not telling you the whole story. You are going to pay 
more in taxes and you're going to pay through the nose.

                          ____________________