No Energy But Foreign Energy in Democrat Bill

This just in:

Today, House Democrats will bring to the floor H.R. 6, a bill that will raise energy prices for American consumers, stifle domestic energy production, and increase our dependence on foreign sources of energy.

Taxing American Energy Raises the Price of Energy for Working Americans

H.R. 6 imposes more than $6.5 billion in new taxes on American energy producers which will lead to higher gas prices and higher home heating bills for American consumers.

Energy is the Lifeblood of the Economy, and Democrats are Sending it Overseas

These new taxes will have a negative impact on our economy by sending massive amounts of capital investment overseas. In a global free market economy, the capital investment critical to growth and good jobs goes where it is wanted.

Furthermore, these new taxes will hurt domestic energy production and encourage energy companies to move American jobs overseas, making America even more dependent on foreign energy. Rep. Jim McCrery, Ranking Republican on the House Ways & Means Committee, explains today in an op-ed for National Review:

"[T]hese provisions would discourage new exploration for domestic energy resources - which we need in order to end our dependence on foreign oil - and weaken our domestic energy industry at a time when doing just the opposite should be a priority." ...

"By making the American energy industry - including refineries - less competitive, they will force more companies to operate overseas, further reducing our domestic capacity.

"Whatever oil and gasoline we do not produce ourselves must be imported, often from nations that are hostile to the United States and our interests. We need to become less dependent on resources from places like the Middle East and Venezuela - and the Democratic proposal will only make the problem worse.

"The damage this legislation will do to our domestic energy industry will send ripples throughout our economy. Rising fuel costs hurt virtually every American business, including retailers, restaurants, airlines, and farms. Fighting against tax increases is at the heart of our shared Republican philosophy. No one who cares about energy security should support the Democrats' legislation to raise gas prices at the pump, ship-manufacturing jobs overseas, and make America more dependent on foreign oil."

But H.R. 6 doesn't only impose new taxes and raise prices. In 1998 and 1999, the Clinton Administration entered into legally-binding contracts with energy companies, but it "neglected" to include price thresholds that trigger payments to the American taxpayer. While Republicans support the recovery of the $10 billion in lost taxpayer revenue due to the Clinton lease error - and passed legislation to address this issue - H.R. 6 declares those contracts null and void, which constitutes a breach of contract. A recent editorial in the Wall Street Journal explains:

"The Democratic bill strong-arms oil companies into renegotiating the contracts or pay a $9 per barrel royalty fee from these leases. If the companies refuse, they lose their rights to bid for any future leases on federal property. So at the same time that the U.S. is trying to persuade Venezuela and other nations to honor property rights, Congress does its own Hugo Chávez imitation."

The Washington Times puts it another way:

"Democrats want to subvert contract law by using strong-arm tactics that would warm the heart of Russian President Vladimir Putin. At least Mr. Putin, in seizing resources from criminal oligarchs, could have argued that he was merely retrieving what had literally been stolen from the Russian state through fraud. The Democrats can make no such claim against the innocent businesses they are about to financially molest. And consumers will pay for it."

Once again, Democrats would rather outsource what is in our best interest to develop and control ourselves.