Rep. Herseth Sandlin Supports Global Warming Tax
Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin
From today’s mailbox:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Lucas Lentsch
Thursday, May 7, 2009 605-224-7347
Herseth Sandlin Supports New Energy Tax
PIERRE – In the coming weeks, Congress will address climate change legislation designed to cut greenhouse gas emissions in the next ten years to 20 percent below 2005 levels. The legislation would set a limit, or cap, on carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel sources – oil, coal, and natural gas. Under the guise of protecting the environment, the proposed plan, dubbed “cap and trade,” is really a new tax designed to make energy produced from coal and gas more expensive. Congresswoman Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, a member of the House Committee on Global Warming, supports this legislation. Estimates from a South Dakota Public Utilities Commission study have shown that under cap and trade, residential electric bills in South Dakota would increase more than 48 percent. All South Dakotans would pay this tax increase.
Charlie Clark of Keldron, SD recently returned from lobbying in Washington, DC on behalf of the Moreau Grand Electric Cooperative and the South Dakota Rural Electric Association. “Moreau Grand has a higher percentage of lower income customers,” he said. “We have several hundred delinquencies, some more than 90 days late. If our customers are already having difficulty paying their electric bills, a 48% increase will be sure to skyrocket our delinquency rate.”
Cap and trade legislation would force companies to make one of two decisions: spend huge sums of money to update their facilities to conform to the new Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requirements so that they operate under the emissions cap, or purchase pollution allowances from other companies that operate below the new standards. These costs would almost certainly be passed onto the energy consumer, averaging around $3100 per year.
The coal industry, which provides roughly half of South Dakota’s electricity, particularly would be affected. During his campaign, President Obama said: “If somebody wants to build a coal-powered plant, they can, it’s just that it will bankrupt them because they’re going to be charged a huge sum for all that greenhouse gas that’s being emitted.” That view of the coal industry is very dangerous to South Dakota and its coal power plant near Big Stone City. The Big Stone Plant not only produces energy, but also provides many jobs for South Dakotans, and the new EPA regulations have placed the proposed Big Stone II Plant in jeopardy.
“This proposal would amount to a regressive tax increase on all South Dakotans when we can least afford it,” said South Dakota GOP Executive Director Lucas Lentsch. “I urge South Dakotans to contact Congresswoman Herseth Sandlin and let her know that we need to keep more of what we earn, not less.”
Note: Reader comments are reviewed before publishing, and only salient comments that add to the topic will be published. Profanity is absolutely not allowed and will be summarily deleted. Spam, copied statements and other material not comprised of the reader’s own opinion will also be deleted.
