Plainville - Justin Bernier, Republican candidate for congressional district 5 today signed a pledge to oppose the "Cap and Trade" energy tax if elected to the House of Representatives in November. Bernier is the only candidate in the 5th district race to have signed the pledge.

Bernier signed the pledge before visiting the Plainville Electrical Products Company (PEPCO).

"PEPCO is the kind of company we ought to be encouraging and supporting in Connecticut," said Bernier. "This small business does high-end manufacturing that creates high-paying jobs in the energy industry --that's the future of America's economy. The Cap and Trade systems that Chris Murphy and Sam Caligiuri have supported hurt small businesses and families by raising the cost of energy even higher."

Murphy is a vocal supporter of the cap and trade bill -- he voted for the bill and publicly lobbied for it's final passage and implementation.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has scored the House plan as an $846 billion increase in federal revenue, a burden to be borne by taxpayers and consumers.

"Cap and Trade is a massive energy tax," Bernier said. "Americans will face hundreds of billions of dollars in new taxes if Chris Murphy gets his way on cap and trade. The end result will be higher prices on anything that requires energy to make or deliver - that's just about everything. Americans will face higher prices for everyday items, including groceries, appliances, and furniture, clothes and shoes, and of course, electricity and natural gas."

"Cap and Trade will move manufacturing jobs to China and India, where emissions standards are far less stringent than in the United States," said Bernier.

Bernier has proposed lower taxes on energy investment, streamlining the regulation process for new power plants and renewable energy sources, and ending frivolous lawsuits that unnecessarily delay energy projects for decades.