We’re not sure why, but on Friday, June 26, eight Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives voted for the Waxman-Markey bill, H.R. 2454, thus ensuring its passage. The final vote for H.R. 2454 was 219-212. It is significant that 44 Democrats voted against H.R. 2454. If only those 8 Republicans had voted against the bill, commonly known as Cap and Trade, it would have died.

As the afternoon wore on that fateful day, June 26, it looked as though there weren’t going to be enough votes to pass the Cap and Trade bill. To be sure, there must have been some behind the scenes deals being made in order to get the needed votes for the bill’s passage. News reports Friday said Pres. Barack Obama was making phone calls to sway reluctant Democrats to vote for the Cap and Trade bill. Twitter conservatives were furiously tweeting late Friday afternoon, asking people to call certain U.S. House Representatives who, at the 11^th hour, had mysteriously changed their votes.

Deal-making on Capitol Hill produced results. And there are some things to ponder.

Three of the eight Republicans who voted for the Waxman-Markey bill on Friday, June 26, are from New Jersey.

Hmmm.

Do you find it interesting that of the eight Republicans who voted for Cap and Trade, three of them are from New Jersey? Is that a coincidence, or does that spell earmarks? Did these same 8 Republicans decide to vote for Cap and Trade because they truly thought the taxing bill was a great idea? When we can actually read the 1500+ page Cap and Trade bill, we may discover the answer to the niggling question of why these Republicans crossed party lines to vote for a bill Obama wants passed into law.

It’s too bad the Democrats never gave anyone a chance to read the bill before they demanded its passage. Few, if any, in the U.S. House of Representatives really know the depth and breath of what they voted for; but that’s transparency, Obama style.

The bill now moves on to the U.S. Senate, where its passage is questionable. Are Republicans across the U.S. sufficiently motivated now to demand change? Only time will tell.

Here is the contact information on the Republicans who voted yes on Cap and Trade in the U.S. House of Representatives Friday. Contact their local district office numbers, as Congressmen are on vacation for the July 4 holiday.

Rep. Mary Bono Mack (R-CA)

• Palm Springs District Office Phone: (760) 320-1076

• DC Phone: (202) 225-5330

Rep. Michael Castle (R- DE)

• Wilmington District Office Phone: (302) 428-1902

• DC Phone: (202) 225-4165

Rep. Mark Kirk (R-IL);

• Northbrook District Office Phone: (847) 940-0202

• DC Phone: (202) 225-4835

Rep. Leonard Lance (R-NJ)

• Westfield District Office Phone: (908) 518-7733

• DC Phone: (202) 225-5361

Rep. Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ)

• Mays Landing District Office Phone: (609) 625-5008

• DC Phone: (202) 225-6572

Rep. John McHugh (R-NY)

• Watertown District Office Phone: (315) 782-3150

• DC Phone: (202) 225-4611

Rep. Dave Reichert (R-WA)

• Mercer Island District Office Phone: (206) 275-3438

• DC Phone: (202) 225-7761

Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ)

• Hamilton District Office Phone: (609) 585-7878

• DC Phone: (202) 225-3765

Would you like to pay an extra $4600/year for your energy usage?

Well, that’s what some estimate it will cost you if the Cap and Trade Bill, also known as the Waxman-Markey Clean Energy bill, is passed in the House of Representatives tomorrow. If this bill is passed, everyone in America who uses electricity, and factories with ‘unclean’ energy, will get a tax smack right in their wallets. It stands to reason that this regressive bill will also force some companies to lay off employees to fund ‘clean’ energy. Some put the loss of jobs at 800,000 if the Waxman-Markey Clean Energy bill passes tomorrow. 800,000 people unemployed, all in the name of clean energy? Higher taxes levied on all Americans who use ‘unclean’ energy….like electricity? Hmmm. Does that sound like a good idea?

Obama makes no attempt to say anything differently in this video where the San Francisco Chronicle questions him about Cap and Trade. “Under my plan of a cap and trade system, electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket,” Obama said.

I posted about the Cap and Tax, as it is sarcastically but accurately called, back in March. Wednesday, legendary investor Warren Buffett called the Waxman-Markey Clean Energy bill a “huge tax” and “a fairly regressive tax” on CNBC, and described it as a bill in which “an awful lot of people…. they’re going to pay a lot more money for electricity.”

The Heritage Foundation calls into question the low $175/household cost touted by Democrats supporting Cap and Trade.

Both the CBO’s analysis and the subsequent legislation are troubled: The analysis grossly underestimates economic costs while the legislation will have virtually no impact on climate. Overall, there are a number of basic problems with CBO’s analysis:

• Their allowance cost numbers do not add up;

• They ignore economic costs such as the decrease in gross domestic product (GDP) as a result of the bill; and

• The analysis is an accounting analysis, not an economic analysis.

Even more troubling is the rising cost of this regressive tax over time. The Heritage Foundation’s analysis on the Cap and Trade’s cost to families:

It is also worth noting that, of the 24 years analyzed by The Heritage Foundation’s Center for Data Analysis (CDA), 2020 had the second lowest GDP loss. Furthermore, the CDA found that for all years the average GDP loss was $393 billion, or over double the 2020 hit. In 2035 (the last year analyzed by Heritage) the inflation adjusted GDP loss works out to $6,790 per family of four–and that is before they pay their $4,600 share of the carbon taxes. The negative economic impacts accumulate, and the national debt is no exception. The increase in family-of-four debt, solely because of Waxman-Markey, hits an astounding $114,915 by 2035.

This bill is a huge tax, plain and simple. While we are struggling to make ends meet in the Great Recession, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi plans on putting the Cap and Trade bill up for a vote tomorrow, June 26.  If this bill passes, it goes on to the Senate.  Heaven help us if this regressive bill becomes law.

If you don’t want your electricity rates to skyrocket, shouldn’t you make your voice heard?

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