King: Animal Gas Tax Would Hurt American Livestock Producers, Consumers

Tuesday, January 06, 2009

Congressman Steve King made the following statement today about an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposal that would impose new taxes on livestock. The proposal, included in the EPA’s Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR), would allow the EPA to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, such as burping or emitting gas, from “stationary” sources like cattle and hogs.

“With unemployment on the rise, the national debt growing and Americans struggling through current economic conditions, the last thing our federal government needs to address is gas produced by farm animals. Imposing a livestock ‘gas tax’ will increase operating costs for farm producers and drive up prices for consumers. This tax is a cow pie in the face of the livestock industry delivered by environmental extremists and the anti-meat lobby.”

BACKGROUND:

- The EPA’s Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) is available at http://www.epa.gov/air/caaac/pdfs/2008_09_GHGshort.pdf

- The ANPR contains suggestions on how to regulate greenhouse gases, including those from “stationary” sources.