Dear Secretary Wright,
We are writing to alert you to language quietly included in a report that was attached to the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Bill. Page 112 of the report directs the Department of Energy to undertake a study that would facilitate the development of a carbon border adjustment mechanism (in other words, an energy tax) in the United States.
This report accompanying the energy spending bill was passed as part of the three-bill “minibus” appropriations package for fiscal year 2026, which combined the Energy and Water Development, Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies, and Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies bills. President Donald Trump signed the minibus into law on January 23. Specifically, the report adopted by Congress states:
The Committee directs NETL to consult with relevant agencies, institutions, academia, and think tank partners and to provide not later than one year after the date of enactment of this Act a study to determine the average emissions intensity of certain goods produced in the United States compared to those from other countries.
“Certain goods shall include all items implicated by the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism. The report shall include a detailed and transparent description of the methodology used to determine the average product emissions intensity of a product, a record of all sources of data used, and a list of covered products, including their associated heading or subheading of the U.S. Harmonized Tariff Schedule.
We are deeply concerned about the implications of this directive. While framed as a study, the structure and scope closely mirror the foundational work required to implement a U.S. carbon tax. Given your well-known opposition to carbon taxes and related schemes, we wanted to
ensure you were fully aware of this provision and its potential trajectory. While this language appears only in a report, rather than statutory text that was passed, it is troublesome nonetheless.
A new energy tax is the last thing Americans need, yet proponents of punitive carbon taxes seem to want to lay the groundwork for a U.S. border carbon tax while shielding themselves from actually voting on such a measure. Perhaps they know that energy taxes are widely unpopular with their constituents.
To that point, you have consistently emphasized that carbon taxes, whether explicit or repackaged as “border adjustments,” function as taxes on production and consumption, raising costs for American manufacturers, distorting energy markets, and undermining domestic energy security. The Trump administration has been a strong and consistent voice against punitive energy taxes here in the U.S. and abroad. Last year, you joined Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, and Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy to successfully stop a United Nations-imposed carbon tax on maritime shipping. In that statement, you wrote:
Whatever its stated goals, the proposed framework is effectively a global carbon tax on Americans levied by an unaccountable UN organization… The Trump Administration unequivocally rejects this proposal before the IMO and will not tolerate any action that increases costs for our citizens, energy providers, shipping companies and their customers, or tourists. We will fight hard to protect the American people and their economic interests. Our fellow IMO members should be on notice that we will look for their support against this action and not hesitate to retaliate or explore remedies for our citizens should this endeavor fail.
This effort by some in Congress is a similar example of taking bad policy emanating from Europe–in this case, the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism–and imposing it on American citizens. Therefore, the approach the administration took to address the maritime carbon tax should be adopted here, and DOE’s priority should be to prevent European policies from dictating the terms on which Americans engage in trade.
Thank you again for your leadership in pushing back against carbon taxes, particularly those originating in Europe, and for standing firm on behalf of American households, energy producers, and manufacturers. Please do not hesitate to let us know if we can be helpful as you navigate this issue.
Respectfully,
Tom Pyle
President, American Energy Alliance
Brent Gardner
Chief Government Affairs Officer, Americans for Prosperity
Phil Kerpen
President, American Commitment
Diana Furchtgott-Roth
Director, Center for Energy, Climate, and Environment, The Heritage Foundation
Ryan Ellis
President, Center for a Free Economy
Tom Harris
Executive Director, International Climate Science Coalition
Alex Stevens
Manager of Policy and Communications, Institute for Energy Research
Brandon Arnold
Executive Vice President, National Taxpayers Union
Benjamin Zycher
Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute (For identification purposes only)
Grover Norquist
President, Americans for Tax Reform
Daren Bakst
Director of the Center for Energy and Environment, Competitive Enterprise Institute
Jenny Beth Martin
Honorary Chairman, Tea Party Patriots Action
Daniel C. Turner
Founder & Executive Director, Power The Future
Jerry R. Simmons
President and CEO, Domestic Energy Producers Alliance
Amy Oliver Cooke
President, Always On Energy Research
Daniel J. Mitchell
President, Center for Freedom and Prosperity
David Williams
President, Taxpayers Protection Alliance
Kristen Walker
Senior Policy Analyst and Manager for Energy, American Consumer Institute
James Taylor
President, The Heartland Institute
Seton Motley
President, Less Government
Gabriella Hoffman
Director, Center for Energy and Conservation, Independent Women
Craig Rucker
President, Committee For A Constructive Tomorrow (CFACT)
Kristen A. Ullman
President, Eagle Forum
E. Calvin Beisner
Ph.D., President, Cornwall Alliance for the Stewardship of Creation
Cameron Sholty
Director of Government Relations, Heartland Impact
Hon. Jason Isaac
Founder and CEO, American Energy Institute
Myron Ebell
Chairman-elect, American Lands Council
Craig Richardson
President, E&E Legal
Paul Gessing
President, Rio Grande Foundation
John Hinderaker
President, Center of the American Experiment
George Landrith
President, Frontiers of Freedom
Jeffrey Mazzella
President, Center for Individual Freedom
Matthew Kandrach
President, Consumer Action for a Strong Economy
Margaret Byfield
Executive Director, American Stewards of Liberty
John Droz, Jr.
Founder, Alliance for Wise Energy Decisions
Daniel Erspamer
President & CEO, Pelican Institute for Public Policy
Frank Lasee
President, Truth in Energy and Climate