Congressman Adam Putnam (R-Fla.) today announced he would vote against the “cap and trade” energy bill (HR 2454).

“We need a comprehensive energy and environmental policy to protect and sustain our nation’s natural resources while providing for a strong American economy,” said Putnam. “But the harder I look at this bill, the harder it is to support it.  It fails in so many fundamental ways.  It punishes the first to innovate and it rewards the last.

“It misses so many opportunities to reward good stewards of the earth and to encourage innovation.  It fails to foster development of nuclear power, which emits zero carbon. It fails to encourage the development of clean coal technology – something which is being pioneered in Central Florida. No serious energy policy can ignore the development of these fuel sources, which are necessary to make us more energy secure and less dependent on hostile nations.

“In addition, this legislation will impose a cost burden on consumers,” Putnam said. “And it will raise costs at a time when we can least afford them. This will increase utility rates by as much a 57 percent, according to local estimates. Higher energy costs as we painfully witnessed last summer mean less discretionary spending and more jobs moved overseas.”

Since 2001, Putnam has represented Florida’s 12^th Congressional District, which includes most of Polk County and portions of Hillsborough and Osceola counties.