Arizona consumers will feel the impact of higher food and utility prices
ARIZONA, June 11 – During a recent trip to Washington, D.C., to meet with Arizona’s congressional delegation, Arizona Farm Bureau President Kevin Rogers urged lawmakers to oppose a climate change bill that would raise costs for agriculture producers and consumers.
“The American Clean Energy and Security Act would create a financial hardship for many Arizona farmers, raise food costs on consumers and would undermine our nation's food security and independence by driving more agricultural production to other countries,” Rogers says.
The American Clean Energy and Security Act (H.R. 2454) passed the House Energy and Commerce Committee on May 21, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has put it on a fast track for a vote by the full House of Representatives. The measure is referred to as "cap-and-trade" legislation because it would cap greenhouse gas emissions and allow credits for the sequestering of carbon to be traded like a commodity.
Just this month, Arizona Farm Bureau reported on the impact of a cap and trade environment to Arizona farmers and ranchers that can be found on www.azfb.org.
According to Ranking Minority Member of the U.S. House’s Ways and Means Committee, Dave Camp (R-Michigan), the electric bill for an Arizona household would increase nearly $2,000 per year occurring in part because coal-fired utility plants will have to compensate (pay) for the carbon they emit. “The American family will be put under severe economic stress when you add the increased costs of fuel, food and clothing that are the result of this cap and trade proposal it’s a carbon tax that will ultimately be paid for by families,” says Rogers.
On the agriculture side, according to research Arizona Farm Bureau did, agriculture producers estimate water costs increasing as much as 25% and other fuel and energy costs running 10 to 20% higher as a result of cap and trade legislation. Adds Rogers, “A pound of carbon in the U.S. is the same as a pound of carbon in China, but in that country they won’t be penalized.”
Consumers would not only feel the impact of higher utility costs and agriculture producers’ higher fertilizer, diesel fuel and other production inputs, the bill would reduce U.S. farmers’ competitiveness abroad because other countries would not be subject to the same standards.
“As our country struggles to wean itself off foreign oil it makes no sense to put this kind of cap and trade burden on Americans,” Rogers said. "This bill will hurt families, drive small companies and farms out of business and stifle economic recovery. Cap and trade legislation will also drive agriculture production to other countries that won’t have to contend with such legislation. As food safety continues as a major issue for farmers and consumers we need to think twice about putting American agriculture at risk because of cap and trade legislation.” |
