Washington, Dec 6, 2007 - U.S. Congressman John Carter (TX-31), House Republican Conference Secretary, today voted against the Democrat “No-Energy” Energy Bill that raises taxes, mandates that states derive 15 percent of their electricity from renewable resources, but produces no new energy.

“Americans are looking for Congress to produce an energy bill that makes use of the resources and technologies we have available in an effort to deliver the most affordable energy we can to those who need it most,” Carter said. “In order to do this, we need to unlock new supply, encourage conservation and promote the research and innovation necessary to develop new technologies.”

“But unfortunately, the Democrats so called “energy bill” includes none of these,” Carter continued. “Instead, they impose $21 billion dollars of new taxes on America’s domestic energy produces, costs that are sure to be felt by American consumers. In Texas, we understand that this bill is bad for business and bad for American families.”

The bill also includes a mandate requiring states to meet a Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) which requires all states to produce 15 percent of their electricity from renewable resources. For Texas this means that consumers will pay an additional $700 million in energy costs from 2010 to 2030 because, like many other southern states, Texas lacks the resources to meet this mandate.