Congressmen Bart Gordon, Jim Cooper and Steve Cohen showed their true colors June 26 by voting for a massive special interests pork bill that will be costly to Tennesseans. The pork-filled American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, or the “cap-and-trade” bill, narrowly passed the U.S House after months of debate.
Throughout the bill’s progress, negotiations involved behind the scenes wheeling and dealing that essentially handed out free allocations to special interest groups to gain support. This bill has been coined “one of the biggest tax increases in history.” It comes in the form of billions of dollars in free carbon allowances members of Congress have already promised their favorite companies.
These three Congressmen just voted to shrink our economy and destroy American jobs. One estimate puts job losses at 800,000 by 2015; 1.9 million by 2020, and 3.2 million by 2025. Kudos to Tennessee’s elected officials who voted against this pork bill, including Congressman Phil Roe, John Duncan, Marsha Blackburn, Zack Wamp, Lincoln Davis and John Tanner. We need more elected officials who look out for Tennesseans’ best interests rather than look ahead to donors for their next campaign.
Frank Niceley
Strawberry Plains, Tenn.
Niceley represents the 19th Congressional District in Tennessee.
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