Johanns says Senate climate bill disaster for agriculture
By Robert Pore robert.pore@theindependent.com
Published: Wednesday, September 30, 2009 8:49 PM CDT
Sen. Mike Johanns, R-Neb., didn't think much of the House-passed climate change bill, especially when it comes to its potential impact on the nation's agricultural industry.
But things have gotten worse, according to Johanns, now that climate change legislation has been introduced by Sens. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and John Kerry, D-Mass.
Johanns characterized the Senate bill as "left of Obama, Pelosi."He also described the bill as "an assault on agriculture ."
As with the House bill, Johanns said, the legislation will "lead to higher taxes, higher energy costs, a tighter squeeze on disposable income, more lost jobs and lower standards of living."
"For agriculture, the costs are real and the benefits are theoretical -- our country's heartland is in the crosshairs of this national energy tax," he said.
"This bill is a national energy tax, which will disproportionately target rural America and middle class families," he said. " Agriculture is an energy-intensive industry. On average, 65 percent of farmers' variable input costs are fuel, electricity, fertilizer and chemicals. An increase in operating costs could devastate farmers and ranchers." Read More
Here’s more analysis by Senator Johanns on the recently released Kerry-Boxer climate change bill. Johanns called a spade a spade when he stated that this bill is a national energy tax. If you consume energy, you will be paying more. Agriculture would be one of the hardest hit sectors as things like fuel, electricity and fertilizer would increase drastically. This would lead to less domestically produced food and put us at risk of depending on foreign nations to grow our food for us.
No comments:
Post a Comment