Washington, D.C.

April 30, 2019

Representative Kathy Castor

2052 Rayburn House Office Building

Washington, DC 20515

CC: Members of the House of Representatives

Re: Joint Letter from Non-Profit Groups to Members of the House of Representatives on H.R. 9

Dear Representative,

The undersigned organizations strongly urge you to oppose H. R. 9, the Climate Action Now
Act, which if enacted would reverse President Trump’s wise decision to withdraw the United
States from the UN Paris climate treaty. This legislative attempt to re-instate the Paris climate
treaty would inflict permanent and irreparable damage to consumers and job-creating businesses
across the country.

It would also place the American economy at a global disadvantage. Although other nations have
ostensibly signed on to the Paris treaty, most either set weak targets for reducing greenhouse gas
emissions or are failing to meet their targets. H. R. 9 would give the force of law to the stringent
emissions reduction targets set unilaterally by President Obama under Paris. It thus would lock
America into costly energy-rationing schemes that our major trade competitors like China are not
undertaking.

The opportunity costs of H. R. 9 are especially great given that America is emerging as the world
leader in total fossil fuel production – coal, oil, and natural gas. The “keep it in the ground”
approach embodied by H. R. 9 would force us to forego many energy industry jobs, undercut our
ability to compete head-to-head against OPEC and Russia in energy export markets, and
squander the tremendous energy cost advantage enjoyed by the American manufacturing sector
that has been growing since President Trump took office. It would also filter down to consumers
and result in higher electric rates, higher natural gas bills for home heating, higher gasoline
prices, and higher prices for nearly all goods and services. In sum, H. R. 9 would bring an end to
America’s burgeoning energy dominance and rob us of its many benefits.

The only way for federal climate legislation to avoid strong opposition is if the actual impacts are
left vague. So it is with H. R. 9, particularly given its highly truncated debate at the committee
level. In contrast, the Green New Deal resolution goes into considerable detail about its extensive
mandates to micromanage the way Americans live and work, and for that reason it was the
subject of widespread opposition and ridicule. Indeed, every one of the Green New Deal’s Senate
sponsors abandoned it when brought to a vote in March. However, it should be noted that the
tough emissions reduction targets in H. R. 9 can only be met by instituting many of the
provisions in the Green New Deal. Thus a vote for H. R. 9 is really a vote for key parts of the
Green New Deal.

For these reasons, we urge you to vote No on H. R. 9, the Climate Action Now Act. Thank you
for considering our views.

Sincerely,

Competitive Enterprise Institute Eagle Forum

Americans for Limited Government Campaign for Liberty
FreedomWorks The Heartland Institute
Heritage Action American Energy Alliance
American Commitment Energy and Environment Legal Institute
Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow Americans for Wise Energy Decisions
(CFACT) Center for the Study of Carbon Dioxide and
American Conservative Union Global Change
60 Plus Association Caesar Rodney Institute
ALEC Action Australian Environment Foundation