The leader of the state’s largest farm organization believes passage of the American Clean Energy and Security Act (HR 2454) will cause great financial hardship for rural Oklahoma.
“We are disappointed in the House passage of HR 2454 and urge the Senate to vote ‘no’ on the bill,” said Mike Spradling, president of the Oklahoma Farm Bureau. “We are strongly opposed to the legislation because of its long-reaching impact on electricity generation.”
Spradling said Oklahoma could be hit hard by the legislation because of the proliferation of coal-fired electrical generation plants in the state.
“The rural electric cooperatives estimate this will add $51 to the monthly electric bill of Oklahoma customers,” Spradling said.
The federal legislation includes a “cap and trade” program that seeks to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Agriculture does not fall under the cap limits but electricity generation is included and thus many rural users will be impacted, Spradling said.
Economists with the American Farm Bureau Federation conservatively estimate under a best-case scenario, agriculture by 2020 would face a $5 billion a year loss in net farm income. More realistic projections peg the costs much higher.
“Agriculture is a major energy consumer and anything that increase energy costs impacts our bottom line,” Spradling said. “It takes energy to produce the nation’s food and fiber and this legislation could translate into higher prices in the grocery store.”
The Sands Springs rancher adds the legislation creates an “energy deficit” by reducing the use of fossil fuels without producing any good alternatives to make up the lost energy generation.
There also is the concern the bill does nothing to reduce emissions in other countries such
as China and India.
“This will make it difficult for our farmers and ranchers to compete in a global market as they will be hamstrung by environmental regulations that foreign competitors can ignore,” Spradling said.
