Nation’s Oldest Taxpayer Group Spearheads Broad Coalition Effort to Oppose Energy Subsidies
(Alexandria, VA) – Today, the 362,000-member National Taxpayers
Union (NTU) organized the release of a coalition letter signed by nearly 30
groups united in opposition to energy subsidy schemes in the federal
government. The letter, signed by such prominent organizations as Heritage
Action for America, Taxpayers for Common Sense, FreedomWorks, Americans for Tax
Reform, Americans for Prosperity, Club for Growth, and the Competitive
Enterprise Institute urges Congress to stop energy subsidies, including
programs like loan guarantees and mandates, and begin the hard work of
dismantling existing preferences that have been built into law.
To Read the Entire Coalition Letter Click Here.
In their open letter to Members of
Congress, the signatories contended, “Instead of promoting a reliable and
affordable energy industry, the subsidy-first energy policy that has prevailed
the past three decades has created whole industries dependent on government and
focused as much on ensuring their share of taxpayer largesse as they are on
developing energy. This is no longer acceptable.”
NTU Vice President of Government
Affairs Andrew Moylan pointed to ethanol subsidies and nuclear loan guarantees as
perfect examples of policies that place significant burdens on taxpayers with little
to no benefit. In addition to mandates that require its use and tariffs that
lock out less expensive alternatives, ethanol receives a $6 billion-per-year
subsidy through the refundable Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit (VEETC). In
the last few months, NTU has joined with as many as 90 ideologically diverse
environmental, food, and free-market activist groups to oppose VEETC in the
name of fiscal responsibility. “Ethanol has become a sad symbol of how
political clout can defeat even the most solid fiscal and scientific consensus,
and we applaud the courageous legislative efforts of Senator Coburn and
Representative Flake to put an end to this boondoggle once and for all,” Moylan
said.
Despite the existence of $50
billion in federal loan guarantee authority for construction of nuclear power
plants, initiatives have been launched from both Congress and the White House
to massively increase investment risk to taxpayers – moves that NTU and some of
its coalition partners have consistently opposed. Moylan stated, “Regardless of
one’s view on nuclear power’s viability as an energy source, repeated warnings
from watchdogs like the Government Accountability Office and non-profit
organizations as well suggest that nuclear loan guarantees are financially
risky and prone to severe mismanagement. We cannot afford them, especially in
this fiscal environment.”
“For the first time in decades,
Washington is beginning a conversation about cutting spending and reducing the
size and scope of our bloated federal government,” Moylan concluded. “Wasteful
and inefficient energy subsidies represent an ideal place to begin that
conversation.”
The 362,000-member
NTU is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization working for lower taxes, smaller
government, and economic freedom at all levels. More information is available
at www.ntu.org.
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