[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 78 (Wednesday, May 20, 2009)]
[House]
[Pages H5805-H5806]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  THE ENERGY TAX WILL HURT REAL PEOPLE

  (Mrs. CAPITO asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Mrs. CAPITO. As this Congress debates cap-and-trade, we need to 
remember that coal is our Nation's most abundant resource, providing 50 
percent of this Nation's electricity and 98 percent of the electricity 
generated in my State.
  We all want a cleaner environment, but this cap-and-trade bill is not 
the answer. The majority's bill is a $646 billion national energy tax 
that will hit States like West Virginia the hardest.
  It will essentially make the coal-reliant heartland unfairly 
subsidize our friends on the west coast and in the Northeast. An 
average energy bill for an average family will go up by at least 
$1,500, and those hardest hit will be those that can least afford it.
  People in the lower-income bracket will be spending more and more of 
their income on energy than any other income brackets. By 2020, folks 
in the lower-income brackets in West Virginia could be spending between 
24 percent and 27 percent of their entire income on energy. 
Manufacturing will also be hit with major cost increases making 
electricity far more expensive.
  As we continue to debate this issue, Congress needs to remember that 
cap-and-trade has a real cost on real people.

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