41 Conservative Groups Urge Support for Scalise/McKinley Anti-Carbon Tax Resolution

July 19, 2018

The MacIver Institute joined a coalition of 41 conservative groups to oppose carbon taxes. In a letter to Congress, coalition members expressed their support for a congressional resolution that highlights the detrimental effects of carbon taxes on the American economy.

The text of the letter follows.

Dear Members of Congress: 

The undersigned organizations urge you to vote for H.Con.Res 119, introduced by Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) and Congressman David McKinley (R-W.V.), which expresses the sense of the Congress that a carbon tax would be detrimental to the U.S. economy. 

We oppose any carbon tax. We oppose a carbon tax because it would lead to less income and fewer jobs for American families. 

For example, a 2014 Heritage Foundation report found that a $37 per ton carbon tax would lead to a loss of more than $2.5 trillion in aggregate gross domestic product by 2030. That is more than $21,000 in income loss per family. 

In addition, a carbon tax would cost over 500,000 jobs in manufacturing and more than one million jobs by 2030. According to a 2013 CBO report, a carbon tax is highly regressive. 

After President Trump signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act into law on December 22, 2017, more than 90 percent of wage earners have had higher take-home pay. 

At least 600 companies of all sizes have already announced special bonuses, pay raises, 401(k) match increases, tuition assistance, new training programs and other benefits for workers. 

Thanks to the GOP tax cuts, utility companies are lowering rates, which means lower bills for consumers. 

A carbon tax would reverse many of these successes. 

We support the House Concurrent Resolution in opposition to a job-killing carbon tax and urge members to vote for this resolution. 

Sincerely,

Grover Norquist
President, Americans for Tax Reform

Brent Wm. Gardner
Chief Government Affairs Officer, Americans for Prosperity

David McIntosh
President, Club for Growth

Kent Lassman
President, Competitive Enterprise Institute

Daniel J. Erspamer
CEO, Pelican Institute for Public Policy

Phil Kerpen
President, American Commitment

Matt Schlapp
Chairman, American Conservative Union

Tom Pyle
President, American Energy Alliance

Lisa B. Nelson
CEO, ALEC Action

Jason Pye
Vice President of Legislative Affairs, FreedomWorks

Norm Singleton
President, Campaign for Liberty

Andrew F. Quinlan
President, Center for Freedom and Prosperity

Jeffrey Mazzella
President, Center for Individual Freedom

Olivia Grady
Senior Fellow, Center for Worker Freedom

Matthew Kandrach
President, Consumer Action for a Strong Economy

Thomas Schatz
President, Council for Citizens Against Government Waste

Katie McAuliffe
Executive Director, Digital Liberty

Craig Richardson
President, Energy & Environmental Legal Institute

Alex Ayers
Executive Director, Family Business for Affordable Energy

Matt Kiibbe
President, Free the People

Annette Meeks
CEO, Freedom Foundation of Minnesota

George Landrith
President, Frontiers of Freedom

Tim Huelskamp PhD
President and CEO, The Heartland Institute

Mario H. Lopez
President, Hispanic Leadership Fund

Amy Oliver Cooke
Executive Vice President, Independence Institute

Carrie L. Lukas
President, Independent Women’s Forum

Heather R. Higgins
CEO, Independent Women’s Voice

Sal J. Nuzzo
Vice President of Policy, The James Madison Institute

Becki Gray
Senior Vice President, John Locke Foundation

Seton Motley
President, Less Government

Matthew Gagnon
Chief Executive Officer, Maine Heritage Policy Center

Brett Healy
President, The MacIver Institute for Public Policy

Lorenzo Montanari
Executive Director, Property Rights Aliance

Mike Stenhouse
CEO, Rhode Island Center for Freedom and Prosperity

Paul Gessing
President, Rio Grande Foundation

David Williams
President, Taxpayers Protection Alliance

James L. Martin, Founder/Chairman
Saulius “Saul” Anuzis, President
60 Plus Association

Judson Phillips
Founder, Tea Party Nation

Michael W. Thompson
President, Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy

Amy Kremer
Co-Chair, Women for Trump

Becky Norton Dunlop
Former Secretary of Natural Resources, Commonwealth of Virginia

Read the letter here.