FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – Thursday, May 21, 2009
Contact: Mary Ellen Burke, (202) 349-5880 or mburke@afphq.org

Americans for Prosperity Takes Its
Hot Air Balloon Tour Down South to Expose the Hidden Energy Tax Hike in “Cap-and-Trade” Legislation

Southern swing of cross-country “Hot Air Tour” begins June 2nd, travels to four states

WASHINGTON – As cap-and-trade legislation heats up in Congress, the free-market grassroots group Americans for Prosperity is launching the southern leg of its Hot Air Balloon Tour on June 2nd, exposing the extreme economic costs of proposed cap and trade legislation to the American taxpayer.

Consisting of six events in four states, the Hot Air Tour has the goal of building grassroots pressure against costly state, local, and federal climate change policies. AFP has pledged to mobilize citizens in order to fight off any attempts to pass a cap-and-trade regulatory scheme.

“This cap and trade scheme is nothing more than a tax on energy- plain and simple,” said AFP President Tim Phillips. “We think American families need to know what these proposals will cost them – lost jobs, even higher energy prices, and less freedom.”

June 2-5, the southern leg of AFP’s 2009 Nationwide Hot Air Tour will make stops in St. Louis, Mo., Nashville, Tenn., Little Rock and Fayetteville, Ark., and Shreveport and Baton Rouge, La. The Tour, which was first launched last spring in Washington, DC and traveled to over two dozen key locations around the country, re-launched last month making stops in Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

“As cap and trade legislation moves quickly through Congress, we’re asking citizens at each event to urge their legislators to sign our No Climate Tax Pledge,” said Phillips. “We’re asking them to reject any form of the bill that increases the burden on taxpayers.”

Over 180 office holders have already taken the pledge, and citizens can send letters urging their legislators to sign the pledge at www.noclimatetax.com.

Below is the schedule of Hot Air Tour events:

Tuesday, June 2, 2009
St. Louis, Missouri

Wednesday – June 3, 2009
Nashville, Tennessee
Little Rock, Arkansas

Thursday – June 4, 2009
Fayetteville, Arkansas
Shreveport, Louisiana

Friday – June 5, 2009
Baton Rouge, Louisiana

More information about the Hot Air Tour, including a full schedule of events, is available online at www.HotAirTour.org.

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. For more information, visit www.americansforprosperity.org