Americans for Prosperity Applauds U.S. Congressional Candidate Ben Loyola
-Signs No Climate Tax Pledge-
RICHMOND, VA; July 17, 2009 - The Virginia chapter of the free-market grassroots group Americans for Prosperity (AFP-VA) today applauded U.S. Congressional Candidate Ben Loyola (2nd District) for signing the group’s “No Climate Tax Pledge.” By doing so, Loyola joins over 220 lawmakers on the federal, state and local levels pledging to “oppose legislation relating to climate change that includes a net increase in government revenue.”
“Elected officials should all be able to agree that global warming shouldn’t be used as an excuse to hike taxes on citizens and businesses,” said AFP-VA State Director Ben Marchi. “We encourage all of Virginia’s elected officials and candidates for elected office to sign the pledge.”
Virginia now boasts 15 pledge signers, including: U.S. Representative Eric Cantor; Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling; State Senators Steve Martin, Frank Ruff Jr. and Ken Cuccinelli; and State Delegates Charles Carrico, Tommy Wright and Brenda Pogge.
Cap-and-trade took its first step toward enactment recently when the U.S. House narrowly passed the Waxman-Markey energy bill. The bill escaped the lower chamber by a scant seven votes, despite significant bipartisan opposition. President Obama has made no secret of his support for a cap-and-trade scheme, which would be the largest tax increase in American history. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has scored the plan as an $846 billion increase in federal revenue, a burden that will be borne by taxpayers and consumers for years to come.
“Using the guise of climate change to transfer dollars from hard-working citizens to bureaucratic big government is unacceptable,” said Marchi. “Regardless of their stance on global warming, this should be common ground for all of our elected officials at all levels of government.”
The pledge is available online at www.NoClimateTax.com. AFP does not endorse candidates. All elected officials and candidates are encouraged to sign the pledge and go on the record in opposition to using the climate change issue to increase taxes and grow the size of government.
Americans for Prosperity (AFP) is the nation’s premier grassroots organization committed to advancing every individual’s right to economic freedom and opportunity. AFP believes reducing the size and scope of government is the best safeguard to ensuring individual productivity and prosperity for all Americans. AFP educates and engages citizens in support of restraining state and federal government growth, and returning government to its constitutional limits. For more information, visit www.americansforprosperity.org
