CCAGW to Rep. Timothy Johnson:Vote No on Waxman-Markey

WASHINGTON--(Business Wire)--
The lobbying arm of the nation`s premier taxpayer watchdog group, the Council
for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW), today urged Rep. Timothy Johnson
(R-Ill.) to vote "No" on H.R. 2454, the American Clean Energy Security Act, also
known as the Waxman-Markey cap-and-trade bill.

The group`s members have flooded Capitol Hill with 20,500 e-mails strongly
opposing the bill and CCAGW today issued a last-minute appeal to its members in
Rep. Johnson`s district asking them to call his office. The e-mails CCAGW`s
members sent to Congress read, in part:

"What this plan really will do is place severe regulatory burdens on domestic
industry that will ultimately drive up the prices I pay for electricity,
gasoline, natural gas, and virtually every product I purchase that uses fossil
fuels in its manufacture or transportation.

"What's more, the Waxman-Markey bill will hit me not only as a consumer, but as
a taxpayer, as it significantly grows the size and cost of government. By
requiring the Environmental Protection Agency to establish a greenhouse gas
(GHG) registry, create a GHG emission allowance transfer system, and set
emission allowances from 2012-2050, this cap-and-trade scheme empowers
bureaucrats to dictate virtually every aspect of commercial and individual
energy use. It also opens the door to the potential for political manipulation
and corruption."

"For Rep. Johnson, who has a 45 percent lifetime CCAGW rating, casting a vote
against this massive energy tax would be a good first step toward instilling
more confidence in his constituents that he will improve his rating on wasteful
spending and taxes this year," said CCAGW President Tom Schatz. "Taxpayers are
reeling from the realization that they now face an $11.4 trillion national debt
and a federal government that is becoming an even more intrusive and expensive
bureaucracy. We urge him to vote against this bill, which will only add to the
crushing burden on the economy and cost taxpayers, consumers, and businesses
trillions of dollars with little to show in return," concluded Schatz.

CCAGW is the lobbying arm of Citizens Against Government Waste, the nation`s
largest nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste,
fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government.

CCAGW
Leslie K. Paige, 202-467-5334

Copyright Business Wire 2009