"Lt. Gov. John Fetterman listening to speakers" by Governor Tom Wolf. CC BY 2.0
ATR today released a video showing Fetterman called for a European-style “carbon cap” on at least four occasions:
“Carbon outputs are gonna be capped!”
“You can’t ignore the logic and the imperative of carbon caps.”
Fetterman even traveled to Washington D.C. in 2009 and in official testimony asked the U.S. Senate to impose a “carbon cap” on American energy.
The legislation — known as “cap and trade” would give the government power to set an arbitrary “cap” on oil and gas production. It would’ve raised energy bills even higher, killed jobs in Pennsylvania and weakened America’s energy security.
The Fetterman-endorsed legislation would have resulted in a tax increase of $646 billion over 10 years. When fully phased it would have been a $100 billion per year tax on American businesses and a $3,100 tax on every American family.
A study conducted by the left-leaning Brookings Institute found that the cap-and-trade program Fetterman testified in favor of would have in fact reduced U.S. gross domestic product by 2.5 percent while reducing employment levels by 0.5 percent.
Despite Fetterman’s efforts, the bill did not get across the finish line.
Fetterman pledged to end fracking
Fetterman has also made it clear that he does not support the fracking industry. In the past, Fetterman referred to fracking as a “stain” on Pennsylvania and touted his decision to sign a pledge vowing to end fracking in the Commonwealth.
Fetterman is now attempting revise history by claiming he’s always been a proponent of fracking.
“I support fracking,” Fetterman said in a recent NBC News interview. “I’ve always supported it, as long as it’s done environmentally sound and making sure that we’re not contaminating our waterways.”
Yet Fetterman’ claim is contradicted by his own words from 2018 when Fetterman said “no, I don’t support fracking at all — and I never have.”
In Pennsylvania, the fracking industry employs about 24,000 people and contributes roughly $583 million to the commonwealth’s economy annually. Fetterman’s call for a complete federal moratorium would eliminate these jobs.
In the 2020 election in Pennsylvania fracking was a key issue in the state due to the cheap gas bills that fracking provides to countless Pennsylvanians.
As Pennsylvanians are already suffering from record-high inflation, the last thing they need is another policy that will increase their energy costs, cost the commonwealth jobs, and hurt American competitiveness on the global stage.