OKLAHOMA
CITY – The Oklahoma economy would be devastated should the American
Clean Energy and Security Act become law, a Washington, D.C.,
consultant claimed Sunday.
Speaking at the Oklahoma Independent
Petroleum Association’s fall conference, Andrew Wheeler, senior vice
president of B and D Consulting, said the measure, also known as the
Waxman-Markey energy-climate bill, would reduce jobs in the Sooner
State and could push gas prices beyond the $5-per-gallon level over the
next two decades.
“The biggest crime that President Obama,
Speaker Pelosi and Congressman Waxman are getting away with is when
they say this bill will make the U.S. more energy-independent,” Wheeler
said. “It won’t.”
Citing a study from the National Association of Manufacturers, Wheeler said the bill would hammer the Oklahoma economy.
He
said the measure would have a negative effect in Oklahoma by reducing
household income by more than $490 by 2030; increasing gas prices by 6
to 9 percent by 2015; increasing gas prices by 20 to 26 percent by
2030; and causing a decline in the state’s gross domestic product of
$340 million to $584 million.
Wheeler, a former staff member for
Republican U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe, said the measure would force U.S. gas
prices to $5.60 per gallon.
“The U.S. refining capacity also would decrease by 3 million barrels,” he said.
He said the measure wouldn’t reduce global warming but was instead designed to cause a shift in the energy market.
“This
is a concentrated effort, most at the coal and oil and gas industry,”
he said. “They are trying to get the cost of fossil fuels higher than
renewables.”
The bill’s author, U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., disagreed.
“This
bill, when enacted into law will this year, will break our dependence
on foreign oil, make our nation the world leader in clean-energy jobs
and technology, and cut global warming pollution,” Waxman said in a
media statement.
Waxman, chairman of the House Energy and
Commerce Committee, denied the measure would harm the economy. He said
the bill would create millions of new clean-energy jobs, save consumers
hundreds of billions of dollars in energy costs and enhance America’s
energy independence.
Wheeler said Sunday that he “doubted the
bill would become law anytime soon,” and urged representatives of the
state’s oil and gas industry to continue lobbying lawmakers.
“I
don’t think that climate-change legislation is going to happen this
year,” he said. “I don’t think the bill will become law. But I think
that the oil and gas industry needs to continue to educate Congress.”
Chamber opposes bill
OKLAHOMA
CITY – Like their oil industry counterparts, other Oklahoma business
leaders have announced their opposition to the American Clean Energy
and Security Act of 2009.
In a media release, officials with The
State Chamber claimed the measure would have a negative effect on the
state’s economy. Chamber officials cited a study mentioned by Andrew
Wheeler, a vice president with B and D Consulting. Wheeler discussed
the study at the OIPA’s fall conference in Oklahoma City. The study was
conducted by Science Applications International Corp., using input
assumptions by the National Association of Manufacturers and the
American Council for Capital Formation.
“Oklahomans losing their
job would cut back spending, causing other sectors to shrink, which
would create a tragic domino effect on our job market,” said Ronn Cupp,
The State Chamber’s senior vice president of government affairs. “Those
fortunate enough to keep their jobs would put more money into simply
paying their energy bills. This study confirms that the Waxman-Markey
bill will have a negative impact on Oklahoma’s economy as well as the
rest of the nation.”
By 2030, Cupp said, Oklahoma would lose more than 20,000 jobs and disposable household income would decrease by $490 to $883.
The
Waxman-Markey bill aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and cap the
amount of carbon emitted in the United States by mandating a
cap-and-trade program and other provisions controlling fuel choices
available to businesses and consumers. The bill was passed by the U.S.
House of Representatives this summer. The Senate is working on its
version of the bill. –M. Scott Carter