Congressman Doug Lamborn (CO-05) and 50 other Members of Congress this week sent a letter to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid urging themnot  to schedule a vote on any controversial “Cap and Trade”-style energy legislation that would amount to a massive new tax on American families and businesses.

The news media is reporting that Democrats may use the lame duck session of Congress to ram through controversial legislation, including a National Energy Tax or a “Cap and Trade” bill. 

"Such action would be egregious in substance, timing, and process. It would devastate our economy by killing jobs, impeding economic growth, hamper our competitiveness abroad, and compound our national debt crisis. The timing of such crushing taxation is particularly ill advised when  nearly one-in-ten workers is out of a job, and even more have simply given up looking for work.”– Doug Lamborn (CO-05)

In his letter, Lamborn asks that Senate and House leaders “commit to Members of Congress and to the American public that this approach will not be pursued.”

Lamborn’s letter has the support of grassroots groups aimed at growing the economy. In separate letters of endorsement, Americans for Tax Reform and Americans for Prosperity had this to say about Lamborn’s efforts to protect Americans from any new energy tax:

“…although Washington may think the public does not care about process, nothing could be further from the truth. As we painfully witnessed during the health care debate,Congress’s penchant for using every procedural trick possible to foist unpopular laws on the people knows no bounds. The lame duck session is an inappropriate vehicle for major policy changes because the voters will have already expressed their will that new people represent their interests.”   James Valvo, Director of Government Affairs, Americans for Prosperity

“As elected representatives, the members of the House and Senate have a responsibility to respect the preferences of their constituents. When the American people make their voices heard this November, they should not have to endure the same policies they have just repudiated, foisted upon them by politicians who are no longer accountable.” Grover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform

The House is scheduled to come back into session on November 15, 2010.

# # #