Grassroots to Protest 'Carbon Crooks' Thursday in Scottsdale

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Jan 06, 2010, 10:33 ET

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Jan. 6 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Arizona chapter of Americans for Prosperity (AFP) announced today that it will team up with the Scottsdale Tea Party and FreedomWorks to protest economically damaging "cap-and-tax" legislation at the Edison Electric Institute's annual board of directors meeting in Scottsdale on Thursday morning, January 7.

The protests will take place from 8:00 to 11:00 a.m. at the Scottsdale Road entrance to the Fairmont Scottsdale Hotel, at 7575 East Princess Drive, in Scottsdale (85255) and will feature marchers holding signs with slogans such as "Welcome, Carbon Crooks!" Above the Fairmont, an aerial protest banner will read, "EEI: Don't wreck America with cap and tax." AFP national policy director Phil Kerpen will be present to answer questions from the press and the public about the economic effects of the cap-and-trade proposals moving in Congress. Arizona Senator Sylvia Allen (R-Eastern Counties) is also scheduled to speak.

"The cap-and-tax bill would do serious damage to America's economy and standard of living," said Kerpen. "The electric utility industry should be fighting the legislation with all its resources, but instead, it's lobbying in favor of cap-and-tax in the vain hope of cutting a deal with the Obama administration and Democrats in Congress."

The aerial banner will be sponsored by JunkScience.com publisher Steve Milloy, who explained that the electric utility industry is apparently giving up on efforts to make profits by producing more electricity and selling it at competitive prices. "Instead," Milloy said, "in exchange for supporting the Obama administration agenda, the utilities want government-guaranteed profits for selling less electricity. That means consumers and taxpayers will be picking up the tab -- paying more for energy and getting less."

The protests will occur as EPA administrator Lisa Jackson and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) address the utility CEOs inside the resort. "The presence of Administrator Jackson and Sen. Graham, along with such notorious rentseeking CEOs as John Rowe of Exelon and Jeff Sterba of PNM Resources should be of great interest to grassroots activists," said AFP Arizona director Tom Jenney. "We need to expose the huge corporate welfare handouts buried in the cap-and-trade legislation."

Americans for Prosperity (AFP) is a nationwide organization of citizen leaders committed to advancing every individual's right to economic freedom and opportunity. AFP believes reducing the size and scope of government is the best safeguard to ensuring individual productivity and prosperity for all Americans. AFP educates and engages citizens in support of restraining state and federal government growth, and returning government to its constitutional limits. AFP has more than 500,000 members, including members in all 50 states, and 24 state chapters. For more information, visit www.americansforprosperity.org.

SOURCE Americans for Prosperity