Roy Blunt: “I rise today in support of this amendment. This amendment is designed to create a point of order against a carbon tax.…”

“I rise today in support of this amendment. This amendment is designed to create a point of order against a carbon tax. This point of order would protect American families and workers from attacks on carbon, and attacks on their utility bills, attacks on things that are absolutely essential for families--and for opportunities for families as we look at utilities and energy. A carbon tax would increase the cost on energy. It would kill jobs as it increased the cost on energy, and make life for families more difficult than it needs to be. At a time when we are struggling to see our economy move forward, families and job creators in Missouri and across the country need to be able to continue to count on affordable and abundant energy resources. We have tremendous opportunities and more American energy. We need to use that in a way that benefits families and benefits the future. According to a 2013 Congressional Budget Office report, a tax of about $21 per metric ton on carbon would raise the price of electricity by an average of about 16 percent in the country. In the State of Missouri, my State, it would increase, according to that 2013 CBO report, the utility bill by 27 percent. We are more coal dependent than many of our States, but apparently if the average in the United States is 16 percent, all you have to do is add that to your utility bill to see what kind of problem that creates for a bill that, in many cases, families are struggling to pay already.…”