Americans for Prosperity Applauds Lieutenant Governor Candidate Mark Darr

-Signs No Climate Tax Pledge-

Rogers—The Arkansas chapter of the grassroots free market group Americans for Prosperity (AFP-AR) today applauded Lieutenant Governor candidate Mark Darr for signing the group’s No Climate Tax pledge.  Darr joins more than 600 bipartisan lawmakers and candidates on the federal, state and local levels pledging to “oppose legislation relating to climate change that includes a net increase in government revenue.” 

“The one thing elected officials should be able to agree on is that global warming shouldn’t be used as an excuse to hike taxes on citizens and businesses,” said AFP-AR State Director Teresa Oelke. “We encourage all of Arkansas’ elected officials and candidates for elected office to sign the pledge.”

Arkansas signers include: U.S. Senate candidate John Boozman; U.S. House candidates Rick Crawford, Tim Griffin, Steve Womack and Beth Anne Rankin; as well as numerous state lawmakers and candidates for state office.   

Cap-and-trade took its first step toward enactment last year when the U.S. House narrowly passed the Waxman-Markey energy tax bill, which escaped the lower chamber by a scant seven votes despite significant bipartisan opposition.  The Senate has struggled to pass companion legislation, with several key Democratic senators expressing opposition to passing the energy tax bill. 

President Obama has made no secret of his support for the bill, which would be the largest tax increase in American history.  The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office has scored the House plan as an $846 billion increase in federal revenue, a burden that will be borne by taxpayers and consumers for decades to come.  Recent analysis by the Institute for Energy Research found the Kerry-Lieberman Senate bill would cost the nation more than 500,000 jobs by 2015 and decrease household income by over $1,000 by 2020. 

“Using the guise of climate change to transfer dollars from hard-working citizens to bureaucratic big government is unacceptable,” said Oelke. “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 a nationwide organization of citizen leaders committed to advancing every individual’s right to economic freedom and opportunity. AFP believes reducing the size and scope of government is the best way to safeguard 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. AFP has more than one million members, including members in all 50 states, and 30 state chapters and affiliates. More than 60,000 Americans in all 50 states have made a financial investment in AFP or AFP Foundation. For more information, visit www.americansforprosperity.org

###