OPINION: Border adjustment tax will raise Alaska energy prices, hurt consumers

Legislation introduced recently in Washington, D.C., proves the Senate majority is attempting to move Congress one step closer to implementing a carbon tax. Four Republicans, including Sen. Lisa Murkowski, joined five Democrats to co-sponsor the legislation.

Devastating inflation and rising energy costs are still driving up daily expenses for Alaskans, yet these senators are pushing legislation requiring the Biden administration’s Department of Energy to study the amount of carbon dioxide emitted from the production of materials including steel, plastic and aluminum, among others. Let’s be clear. This study will likely lead to the implementation of a carbon border tax — a tax that will pass directly to consumers while overriding states’ rights to oppose it.

In February, Gov. Mike Dunleavy created the Alaska Energy Security Task Force to develop a statewide energy plan that will “evaluate the energy generation, distribution, and transmission for the state of Alaska and its communities.” As the State House Energy Chairman, I was honored to be appointed a member of the task force in March. Dunleavy recognizes Alaska’s leadership position as an energy producer is vulnerable to outside global events like we saw with the invasion of Ukraine, during which Alaskans’ energy costs skyrocketed. As policymakers here in Alaska, we are preparing and planning for these types of disruptions so the market can sustain and not put unnecessary pressure on energy producers and our citizens.

The study proposed in the PROVE IT Act would tell the Biden administration which countries emit certain levels of carbon dioxide through the production of paper, petroleum, and steel, among others, that could be used to impose a tariff on those countries. Democrats and activist environmental organizations say this would help reduce pollution from other countries. The real result would be a tax on carbon dioxide — a tax on energy in every form. Our businesses would be strained and forced to increase their prices as the costs to farm, produce, manufacture, and transport goods would become more expensive. Consumers would bear the brunt.

In 2020, Murkowski suggested that revenue generated from carbon taxes could be used for wealth distribution. We can forgo that handout by taking a conservative approach and not increasing taxes and costs on financially strapped Alaskans.

As chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Murkowski has long championed our state’s natural resources and the responsible development of critical products. She deserves credit for advancing some powerful legislation under challenging circumstances. Oil and gas help power our economy in Alaska, and the industry is by far the state’s largest taxpayer. Even considering a carbon tax that would increase their operating costs should be out of the question. Instead, proponents of this misguided legislation should look for solutions to reduce energy costs for consumers, not increase them.

Americans do not want carbon taxes. A recent nationwide survey found that 65% of voters oppose a tax on carbon dioxide emissions collected at the gas pump and in heating and utility bills. Families across the country would face even higher costs of goods. Americans know this legislation does not make sense. Climate activists know the legislation is unpopular because they’ve watched different versions of it do down to defeat year after year. This latest effort is a thinly veiled attempt to move this process along. We need our lawmakers, especially fiscal conservatives, to stop it now. I urge Senator Murkowski and her colleagues to oppose a carbon border adjustment tax so as not to increase costs for Alaska families.

Rep. George Rauscher represents the 29th District in the Alaska House of Representatives.