Research Briefing

Unsatisfied With Pushing Job-Killing Health Care Taxes, Senate Dems Unveil Job-Killing National Energy Tax

TODAY, SENATE DEMS “FOLLOW THE PATH” OF HOUSE DEMS: “An early version of Senate climate legislation … confirms that Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and John Kerry (D-Mass.) largely plan to follow the path their Democratic colleagues pursued in the House-passed climate bill … The latest version, which the aide says stretches for more than 800 pages, is scheduled to be released tomorrow during a Capitol Hill press conference …” (Darren Samuelsohn, “Boxer, Kerry Set to Introduce Climate Bill in Senate,” The New York Times, 9/28/09)

SENATE DEMS PUSH FORWARD WITH JOB-KILLING NATIONAL ENERGY TAX …

Senate Dems’ “Cap-And-Trade” Bill “More Stringent” Than House Dems’ Version. “The Senate climate change bill to be introduced Wednesday will seek to set even more stringent regulations on emissions than is called for in legislation passed by the House. The draft cap-and-trade bill to be introduced tomorrow by Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) will call for a 20 percent reduction in emissions by 2020, compared to the 17 percent reduction mandated by the bill which passed the House in late June.” (Michael O’Brien, “Senate Climate Bill Aims For More Aggressive Targets Than House,” The Hill’s “Blog Briefing Room” Blog, 9/29/09)

Warren Buffet Says Cap-And-Trade “Huge Tax” That Will Hit Poor Americans Hardest. “Ithink if you get into the way it was written, it’s a huge tax and there’s no sense calling it anything else.  I mean, it is a tax.  And it’s a fairly regressive tax.”  (Warren Buffett’s Live Lunch Interview, CNBC’s Power Lunch, 6/24/09)

Experts Say “Cap-And-Trade” Will Cause Unemployment. “A report issued by the left-leaning research organization said that if Congress passes something similar to President Obama’s or the House’s proposed plan, the economy would take the biggest hit around 2025 ... the net job loss would be 0.5 percent over the first 10 years that the legislation is in effect.” (Amanda DeBard, “Study: Cap And Trade Would Hurt Economy,” The Washington Times, 6/9/09)

• That Could Mean Nearly 1 Million Jobs Lost Per Year. “Overall, a cap-and-trade system that reduces annual GDP by 0.34 percent per year can be expected to reduce U.S. employment by roughly 964,900 jobs per year, reduce household earnings by $37.8 billion, and reduce total U.S. economic output by $136.1 billion.” (Andrew Chamberlain, “Who Pays For Climate Policy? New Estimates Of The Household Burden And Economic Impact Of A U.S. Cap-And-Trade System,” Tax Foundation, 3/09)

Obama Administration Admits “Cap-And-Trade” Could Cost American Families Up To $1,761 Per Year. “The Obama administration has privately concluded that a cap and trade law would cost American taxpayers up to $200 billion a year, the equivalent of hiking personal income taxes by about 15 percent ... the total in new taxes would be between $100 billion to $200 billion a year. At the upper end of the administration’s estimate, the cost per American household would be an extra $1,761 a year.” (Dean McCullagh, “Cap-And-Trade Redux: $1,761 Annually Per Family? Or Not?” CBS News’ “Taking Liberties” Blog, 9/16/09)

And CBO Says It Could Decrease Economic Growth By Up To 3.5 Percent In 2050. ”[T]he Congressional Budget Office (CBO) concludes that the cap-and-trade provisions of H.R. 2454, the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (ACESA), if implemented, would reduce gross domestic product (GDP) below what it would otherwise have been – by roughly 0.25 percent to 0.75 percent in 2020 and by between 1 percent and 3.5 percent in 2050.” (“The Economic Effects Of Legislation To Reduce Greenhouse-Gas Emissions,” Congressional Budget Office, 9/17/09)

ON TOP OF OTHER JOB-KILLING TAXES TO PAY FOR OBAMA’S HEALTH CARE EXPERIMENT

Senate Dems’ Tax Businesses Who Can’t Afford Health Insurance That Could Kill 1.6 Million Jobs. “An employer mandate with a punitive payroll tax: Research shows an employer mandate could cost 1.6 million jobs with more than 1 million of those jobs lost in the small business sector. The approach fails to increase affordability and, instead, devastates the economy - with the greatest impact being levied on the low-income community who will pay through depressed wages and lost jobs ...” (Chairman’s Mark, “America’s Healthy Future Act Of 2009,” Introduced 9/16/09; Susan Eckerly, Letter To Representatives, National Federation Of Independent Businesses, 7/15/09)

Senate Dems’ Tax On Medical Innovation Would Endanger Thousands Of Jobs. “Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) raised alarms among industry insiders by asking companies to put up billions of dollars in annual fees to pay for his $900 billion plan. Along with device makers, clinical labs would pay $750 million and insurers are looking at a 35 percent tax on high-cost plans and an additional $6 billion in fees;” “In short, the tax would jeopardize thousands of high-paying scientific and engineering jobs, precisely the types of jobs we must keep and grow in the United States ...”  (Chris Frates and Carrie Budoff Brown, “Medical-Device Makers Launch Blitz,” Politico, 9/14/09; California Health Care Institute et. al., Letter To Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), 9/18/09 )