Will Deeds Stand Up for Workers in His District?

“Cap and Trade” Will Devastate Covington MeadWestvaco Plant

Contact: Tim Murtaugh 804-780-0111

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 26, 2009

RICHMOND - The so-called "Cap and Trade" climate control legislation currently before Congress will devastate Virginia businesses, including the Covington MeadWestvaco plant, a major employer located in Creigh Deeds' Senate district. In a commentary piece published this week, Mark George, Vice President of the plant, wrote that the legislation would have a severe impact on the company and its 1,500 local employees. Republican Party of Virginia Chairman Pat Mullins today called on Deeds to publicly state his position on Cap and Trade, as Bob McDonnell has already done.

"Creigh Deeds must come forward and state once and for all whether he is for or against Cap and Trade," Mullins said. "Bob McDonnell knows this is a job killer, but Deeds has been silent. My question is, if you won't stand up and protect the people in your own Senate district, how in the world can you argue that you would stand up for all Virginians as Governor?"

The bill, deceptively titled the American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES Act, H.R. 2454) proposes a "Cap and Trade" scheme in which entities that exceed a government-imposed emission limit would be forced to buy "credits" from entities which emit amounts under the limits. Many analysts and employers have concluded that the idea would increase costs to consumers and severely limit the ability of private companies to create jobs.

"If the ACES Act passes Congress, MeadWestvaco's Covington mill operations, which provide 1,500 jobs in the Alleghany Highlands, will definitely be one of the losers. The economic future for our area will be severely impacted," George wrote (Kill the Climate Bill: Legislation Ignores Critical Factors...," Richmond Times-Dispatch, June 25, 2009).

"It is too complex to implement, too reliant on technologies that do not yet exist, too expensive for businesses to afford and remain competitive, and too narrowly focused on domestic emissions to reduce the overall global impact of climate change. If the U.S. is expected to commit to the provisions of this legislation without competing economies such as Brazil, China, and India making similar commitments, the American economy, and high-paying manufacturing jobs, will be in serious jeopardy," George wrote "The bill is fundamentally unfair because it would place facilities like the Covington mill at a significant competitive disadvantage."

A study by the Tax Foundation showed that the Cap and Trade system would place an annual burden of $144.8 billion on American household, or more than $1,200 on the average family. (Andrew Chamberlain, "Who Pays for Climate Policy? New Estimates of the Household Burden and Economic Impact Of A U.S. Cap-And-Trade System," Tax Foundation Working Paper #6, March 3, 2009)

It would reduce the American Gross Domestic Product by $350 billion and kill 2.5 million jobs, even accounting for any new "green" jobs, found a study by the National Black Chamber of Commerce (NBCC Press Release, June 24, 1009)

George pointed out that MeadWestvaco has voluntarily reduced emissions by 17-percent at its major manufacturing plants since 2000. "We believe the best way to focus on energy use and climate change is by working together, addressing the environmental, technological, energy, and economic factors that will determine success in a practical time frame," he wrote.

"Creigh Deeds can't keep sticking his head in the sand to avoid answering this question," RPV Chairman Mullins said. "Does he stand with the workers in his own district, or does he heed his party's leaders in Washington?"

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