Dear Representative:

On behalf of our members, the undersigned groups urge you to oppose the Energy Policy Act of 2005. We strongly believe that on balance, this legislation – which is strikingly similar to the bloated, controversial energy bill that died last session – will cost taxpayers dearly and further inflate the federal budget. Our organizations are deeply concerned about this legislation and will consider including votes on this bill in our end-of-the-year scorecards.

In his most recent State of the Union address, President Bush pledged to cut the budget deficit in half over the next four years. But the draft of the energy bill now being considered in Congress undermines this promise: it authorizes more than $80 billion in federal spending and is chock full of wasteful, unnecessary pork projects. At this point in the legislative process, this bill is even larger than the energy bill of the 108th Congress. We expressed to you our grave concerns with that piece of legislation in 2003, and we echo that concern to you today.

Again, we urge you to demonstrate your commitment to fiscal responsibility by opposing the Energy Policy Act of 2005. Please contact Autumn Hanna at Taxpayers for Common Sense Action at (202) 546-8500 x112 or info@taxpayer.net, or Pete Sepp at National Taxpayers Union at (703) 683-5700 or pressguy@ntu.org or David Williams at Council for Citizens Against Government Waste at 202-467-5300 or dwilliams@cagw.org with questions or comments.

Sincerely,

Jill Lancelot

President/Co-Founder

Taxpayers for Common Sense Action

John Berthoud

President

National Taxpayers Union

Thomas Schatz

President

Council for Citizens Against Government Waste