Lies and the Lying Liars Who Legislate

Democrat Assistant Majority Leader’s misleading, untrue spin about the Renewable Energy Standard

Every week the Vermont Natural Resources Council puts out a short “Climate Dispatch” video interviewing one or another special interest activist posing as a Representative of the public. This past week that Representative was Kathleen James (D-Manchester), the Assistant Majority Leader for the Democrats’ House Caucus, aka “The Whip,” who twists the arms to get the votes. James was featured to discuss the passage of the Renewable Energy Standard bill (H.289) out of the House on a 99-39 vote. Pretty much none of the spin this political huckster was selling regarding the substance of the bill is true.

Johanna Miller of VNRC opens the interview with, “Tell us about the priories the House has, and [Democrat] leadership has and why that matters to you and to Vermonters.”

James replies “As we all know, climate action is fundamentally, in my mind anyway, about the economy. It’s about protecting the environment and removing greenhouse gas emissions from our air. But at the very basic level, at the kitchen table level, climate action is about economic action. Whatever we can do to help Vermonters navigate the global energy shift is going to help folks in their pocketbooks. So, we’re excited about the bill.”

Regarding the three emphasized points in turn, no, no, and absolutely freakin’ not.

First, it’s “about the economy”: The fiscal note prepared by the JFO on the version of the bill passed by the House says it will result in a “slowing in the growth rate of the State’s gross domestic product (GDP).” So, no, it’s not about the economy. Not a stronger one anyway.

And if JFO analysis is too academic and theoretical for some, let’s not forget that on January 17th of this year Putney Paper announced that it was shutting down and laying off 127 Vermonters. The reason cited, according to the Brattleboro Reformer: “Over the past decade, the company said it has invested tens of millions of dollars to strengthen the mill, but the rising energy costs are ‘too insurmountable to sustain operations.’ (emphasis added)." So, Rep. James and her cronies may be excited about this bill, but Vermont’s employers – the people who make the economy work – are decidedly not.

If, Rep. James were really concerned about our economy she would have voted ‘no’ on the Renewable Energy Standard. She voted yes and was responsible for getting her party-mates to do the same -- based on a lie.

“It's going to help folks in their pocketbooks.” This is the most infuriating lie of the bunch. There is absolutely nothing in the Renewable Energy Standard that saves Vermonters money. The opposite is true. The bill basically forces Vermont electric utilities to purchase more expensive, less reliable, in-state “renewable” electricity, and/or pay fines (Renewable Energy Credits) for sourcing reliable, cheaper nuclear or natural gas generated electricity, with all the added costs of this being passed along to ratepayers in our electric bills. On top of this the bill adds two new electricity taxes, a gross receipts tax rate of 0.5 percent, and a tax rate on gross operating expenses of 0.320 percent.

The overall cost of H.289 to Vermonters is estimated to be somewhere between half a billion to $1 billion dollars extra over next decade, which will mean as much as an additional $192 tacked onto the average Vermonter’s annual electric bill. In fact, the JFO report notes the consequence of a “decline in consumption growth by households,” or, in other words, regular Vermonters’ purchasing power will take a hit as a result of this bill.  So, how does any of this “help folks in their pocketbooks?” Well, apart from making them lighter to carry, it doesn’t. It hurts. She’s lying.

Lauren Hierl (VVC), Rep. Kathleen James (D-Manchester), and Johanna Miller (VNRC). The faces you make when you just screwed Vermonters out of a billion dollars, told them it would save them money, and the press lets you get away with it.

And lastly, “It’s about protecting the environment.” Yeah, sure it is. This bill would have zero impact on future climate trends or extreme weather events. But, by forcing utilities to buy more in-state renewable energy – wind and solar – that will consequently have to be developed on our ridgelines and in our fields, H.289 will actually lead to totally unnecessary ecological damage, harming wildlife habitats and spoiling the natural beauty of our state.

What the Renewable Energy Standard does (a better name would be, The You WILL Buy Your Electricity from Our Friends Standard) is put millions into the pockets of Democrat Party donors and activists (like the VNRC!) who are in the renewable energy business. In the econ-speak of the JFO, The Renewable Energy Standard takes your money – “a decline in consumption growth by households… slowing the growth rate of the State’s gross domestic product (GDP)” – and gives it to those wealthy, politically connected special interests via what is euphemistically described as “increased resource investment in Vermont.” That’s it. It’s not a win/win. It’s a lose/win wealth transfer up the income ladder. And every Vermonter who pays an electric bill is a loser under the Renewable Energy Standard. That’s the truth.

• Rob Roper is a freelance writer with 20 years of experience in Vermont politics including three years service as chair of the Vermont Republican Party and nine years as President of the Ethan Allen Institute, Vermont’s free market think tank.

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