Let’s be very clear, the Waxman-Markey bill is a national energy tax that will affect you every time you flip on a light switch, drive a car, buy food at the grocery store, charge your cell phone or use a computer. There is not an industry or person in this country whose pocketbook will not be negatively affected by this bill through a sneaky and disingenuous hidden tax scheme called cap and trade. If that’s not top down, government control over the private sector, I don’t know what is.

I don’t have to look further than my own state to see environmental socialism at its worst. California has adopted its own renewable energy standard and carbon cap and trade scheme that is killing businesses and driving people out of the state in record numbers.

Columnist George Will recently noted that “for four consecutive years, more Americans have moved out of California than have moved in” and that “California’s business costs are more than 20 percent higher than the average state’s.” By no coincidence, California has the country’s highest energy rates—sometimes three or four times that of other states. After watching California’s embarrassing self-destruction thanks to overspending, over-taxing, and over regulating, ultimately culminating in a $42 billion budget deficit, it is incomprehensible that this Congress would want to follow any type of an example set by California’s failed experiment of energy and fiscal policies.

Rural and agriculture communities will be most disproportionately affected by this convoluted catastrophe of environmental regulations. As President Obama said, Energy prices will “necessarily skyrocket”, up to 125 percent—forcing local agriculture producers to pay more for seed, equipment, machinery, steel, and other supplies. Recently, 99 Agriculture Groups came out in opposition to this bill—including the American Farm Bureau Federation, the National Chicken Council, the United Egg Producers, the Frozen Food Council and the Society of American Florists. Believe me, they have good reason—farm income is expected to drop $8 billion in 2012, and over $50 billion in 2035, while farm construction costs increase 10 percent and gas prices skyrocket 58 percent higher than today’s national average. If you like getting your oil from Hugo Chavez, you’re going to love getting breakfast, lunch and dinner from him as well.

Farmers aren’t the only people who oppose a new national energy tax; business mogul Warren Buffet, a Barack Obama supporter, recently denounced the cap and tax scheme as a “regressive tax” that will harm “an awful lot of people.” The fact is that there is not one section, provision, line or word in this entire bill that would be beneficial for a healthy economy, let alone our current, struggling economy.

In fact, we should be taking a lesson from Spain, the country who has spent the most amount of money on creating a so-called green economy. A recent study by Spanish economics professor Gabriel Calzada found that in Spain, for every “green” job created through environmental subsidies, 2.2 other jobs were lost. The failure of Spain’s efforts to manipulate their economy through the creation of green jobs was even recognized by former President Bill Clinton when he said during a conference in Madrid, Spain that Spain’s, “commitment to clean energy has cost many jobs.”

The bottom line is that the extent to which the American consumer is going to pay for a national energy tax cannot be overstated—it will cost hundreds of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars. The weight of the new taxes associated with this bill will break the backs of some families, forcing them out of their homes and into the street. America will lose its competitive edge in our global economy as we regulate ourselves into economic obscurity, allowing countries like China and India to outpace our productivity because this legislation will make it far too expensive to conduct business in America.

Congress should do the economy and the environment a favor, and put this bill where it belongs—in the recycle bin.

The discussion draft of the American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES) has four primary objectives (a renewable energy production mandate; improving energy efficiency; a cap and tax on carbon emissions; and creating “green collar” jobs) with one common thread tying them all together—central government planning.

ACES is nothing more than a veiled attempt to bring more of the private sector underneath big government’s tent while creating a $1.3 trillion slush fund for liberal social agendas under the guise of environmental do-goodism.

Most importantly, for a cap and tax bill to be effective and produce the goals of carbon emission reductions outlined in ACES (83 percent reduction of 2005 levels by 2050); energy is going to have to get expensive—oppressively expensive. Even President Obama admitted cap and tax bill would cause electricity prices to “necessarily skyrocket.”

The entire premise behind a cap and tax energy proposal is to punish those who produce, thereby punishing those who consume, which by my quick math amounts to everyone in the United States. Unfortunately, the sadistic nature of radical environmentalism is the disproportionate impact on the poor. While there are some families in this country who can afford to be burdened by a $3,128 energy tax—the vast majority cannot.

Worse, ACES’s provisions to create a new green economy will steal jobs from many low to middle class Americans. In fact, a recent study of Spain’s renewable job program found that the U.S. can expect 2.2 jobs to be destroyed for every 1 “green” job manufactured and subsidized by the government. Ironically, the Institute of Energy Research notes that “according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), Spain’s annual emissions of carbon dioxide have increased by nearly 50 percent since the nation began its aggressive push to subsidize and support ‘green jobs.’”

The questions one should ask when thinking about global warming legislation are: Can I afford a $3,128 tax? Can I afford 60-144 percent increase in gas prices? Can I afford to have my job shipped overseas because my employer can’t afford to stay in business with a 77-128 percent increase in electricity prices? My guess is, the answers to all three are “no”—I know I can’t and neither can my constituents, which is why I’ll be working to defeat this devastating legislation.

Our second letter finally elicited a half-hearted response from Mr. Waxman that essentially amounted to him punting on a CPSIA hearing until a new Chairman was named for the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)—not exactly the type of leadership that the American people deserve during an economic recession

The small business owners across the country cannot afford to wait for a new CPSC Chairman—they need help now.  There is no excuse to let good businesses flounder and die because Congress acted too haphazardly when reacting to the Chinese children’s toy scare.  The unintended consequences of CPSIA are yet another frightening example of big government steamrolling over the little guy in the name of government regulation for the “better good.”

Yesterday, Mr. Barton and I introduced the Consumer Product Safety Solutions Act, which will clarify the standards for children’s products, adjust deadlines to reflect marketplace realities, and give the CPSC the flexibility it needs to protect children from real harm while effectively regulating the market. 

This morning, from 10:00 am–12:00 pm (EST), hundreds of CPSIA activists will gather in Washington D.C., at the Capitol Visitors Center to hold their own public hearing/rally on the devastating unintended consequences of CPSIA.  They want to bring their message directly to the Democrat leadership in Congress who continues to ignore their cries for help. 

I will be attending the rally, listening to stories from small business owners across the country and lending my support to their cause.

If you are interested in learning more or participating online I encourage you to visit http://amendthecpsia.com/–there will be a live video stream of the rally, a webinar, and live Twitter feed (#CPSIA).