Cap and Tax will drive ecomony off cliff (Rep. Lee Terry)

Summer has arrived and you know what that means, summer vacations, suntans and unfortunately higher gas prices. Last summer in my district we saw gas prices spike to over $4 a gallon, which hit families and businesses hard. Now our country is facing difficult economic times and gas prices are again headed up—increasing almost 100 percent since the first of this year. And what is the great solution House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has come up with? A new tax. Not just any tax but a devastating tax that will punish every single American who decides to flip on a light switch, wash their clothes and fill up their gas tank. It’s called cap and tax and it is a dangerous and slippery road to go down. Cap and tax will be extremely damaging to our economy, millions will lose their jobs and electric bills will more than double. As Chairman of the Board for MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company, David Sokol said yesterday on Capitol Hill, “it throws the consumer under the bus.”

The American people deserve better and thanks to House Republicans we have a better solution on the table. Today I joined my colleagues in introducing a comprehensive energy solutions plan. This plan will increase our domestic supply of energy by lifting current restrictions on ANWR, the Outer Continental Shelf and oil shale in the mountains. Our plan will bring dozens of new nuclear reactors online over the next 20 years, provide funding for energy programs like solar, wind and geothermal and makes permanent tax credits for the production of renewable energy. And no, it does not include any new taxes.

Americans don’t want new taxes, they want energy freedom. We can reduce our reliance on foreign oil and clean up our environment with the “American Energy Act.” Let’s do the right thing and not implement a new energy tax that will drive our economy off a cliff.

Cross-posted from Red County.