Senator Roberts: Cap & Trade Bad for Kansas

Senator Pat Roberts continues to be an advocate for Kansans - whether it's opposing government-run health care or fighting energy legislation that will hit Kansas agriculture, small businesses, and families with higher taxes. Here is a letter to the editor by Senator Roberts in the Salina Journal:

Cap and tax problems

The latest cap and tax proposal introduced by my Senate colleagues from Massachusetts and California might sound pretty good on the coasts, but to those of us that live and work in Kansas and across the Midwest, this bill raises the price of gasoline, diesel, fertilizer, natural gas and coal.

If this bill were to pass, Kansans, and all Americans, including those in big cities that depend on the food and fiber we grow, are likely to see an increase in our utility bills, transportation costs and basic consumer goods in exchange for little to no reduction in carbon emissions.

It is not in the best interests of the United States to undertake mandatory carbon reductions until developing countries like China, India and Brazil agree to the same. As a member of the Senate Agriculture and Senate Finance Committees, I will continue to fight against such proposals that limit our ability to compete in a global marketplace, ration domestic energy and result in greater government bureaucracy.

-- U.S. SEN. PAT ROBERTS, R-Kan.