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Friday, July 09, 2010

American Power Act Hurts Small Business

In response to the newly-released U.S. Congressional Budget Office (CBO) analysis of the Senate climate bill, Karen Kerrigan, president of the Small Business & Entrepreneurship (SBE) Council, issued the following statement:

"Though proponents of the American Power Act touted CBO's finding that the bill would cut the federal deficit by $19 billion, small businesses across the nation are not joining in their cheer. Sens. Kerry and Lieberman's legislation would deal a blow to many state economies. As our economy continues to inch toward recovery, the last thing cash-strapped small businesses and start-up companies need is additional taxes and regulation in the form of a massive climate bill. What's more, the bill currently in front of this divided Senate will actually do very little to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

"Many state treasuries have been devastated by the financial crisis, and small businesses are struggling to make ends meet. Moreover, jobless claims registered 454,000 last month, and U.S. unemployment still stands at 9.5 percent. We need sensible climate policy that puts Americans back to work and re-invigorates small business, the backbone of America's economy. Regardless of how much money CBO says Kerry-Lieberman may save the federal government, it will end up hurting small businesses and contributing little to environmental preservation."

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