Voters all across the panhandle have been up in arms over the past two weeks about Congressman Allen Boyd’s support of the American Clean Energy and Security Act that recently passed in Congress and is awaiting action by the Senate.
Recent reports that homeowners would have to do upgrades to their houses to make them energy efficient before selling them has been a huge concern by many. The County Record spoke with Congressman Allen Boyd to get his side of the story Monday and he says the rumors about the “Cap and Trade Bill” requiring such measures are completely untrue.
“There’s nothing in the bill that does anything like that,” he remarks. “I just don’t know where all of that comes from.”
Boyd says there are provisions in the bill to provide tax incentives for energy efficient improvements, but there are no requirements to do so.
“What’s the first myth? Will I need an energy audit to sell my home? No,” Boyd stressed. “Will you be required to have an energy label? No.”
As far as why he voted in favor of this controversial bill, Boyd says, “If you like the current energy policy we have or lack thereof and you think we ought to do nothing, you and I can agree to disagree,” adding that if you don’t like $4.50 per gallon gas, “Let’s have a debate about how we create a system that makes us self sufficient of folks overseas who control the oil.”
The County Record has more questions for Congressman Boyd on the bill and we will address those in next week’s issue. But he wants voters to understand, “We’re in the beginning of a game - the third inning of a nine inning game. We’ve got a long way to go. I would encourage people to make sure they read the information and understand it. Let’s see if we can get down the road.”
