WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Senator John Boozman (R-AR) released the following statement today on President Obama’s proposed national tax on affordable sources of energy:

“This is nothing more than a backdoor attempt to impose cap-and-trade on the American people. President Obama couldn’t get that through Congress, so now he is turning to his regulators. His proposal will drive up electricity prices, especially in Arkansas, and make it impossible for our manufacturers to compete with companies in China and India. 

If raising the cost of electricity on hardworking Arkansans isn’t enough, the President’s proposal will also hit them at the pump. By insisting on new benchmarks for the Keystone Pipeline, which has already cleared more hurdles than most projects, the President is stalling the project further. This is incomprehensible when American families are struggling. The Keystone Pipeline will create thousands of well-paying jobs and helps reduce our dependence on foreign sources of oil, which are two of our top national priorities. There is absolutely no reason to continue to stall it. 

The bottom line is that our economy is fragile. Arkansans are struggling to get by and instead of coming up with solutions, President Obama is coming up with draconian regulations that make matters worse. His proposal would eliminate more than half a million jobs, reduce annual household incomes and raise energy prices by 20 percent. It’s the wrong direction to take our country in right now.”