By Roy Blunt, Special to The Kansas City Star

Imagine paying an additional $3,000 hidden tax every year. Unfortunately, you might not have to imagine that extra burden because the last thing Congress did before going home for the Easter holiday was to pass a budget that spends too much, borrows too much and taxes families, small businesses and farmers too much.

This tax was initiated in the budget blueprint President Obama sent to Congress. He proposed adopting a program called “cap and trade” where the government sets an arbitrary limit on emissions, but creates a new market for manufacturers going over their emission allotment to purchase “offsets.” That new cost will be passed directly to the consumer – you and me – every time we flip on a light switch, turn up the thermostat, fill up our gas tank or purchase an American-made product.

(Editor's note: The Missouri Votes Conservation has written a rebuttal to this viewpoint article by Blunt.)

Democrats are attempting to sneak in this new energy tax using a parliamentary tactic called reconciliation that allows just a few Members of Congress to create policy behind closed doors.

When Senators and Congressmen negotiate a final version of the budget it’s increasingly likely this tax will be included.

I bet you have a better use of that money in mind than paying new taxes. Maybe something like sending a child to college, buying a new car or saving for that first house. But if the Democrats’ budget is signed into law – a budget I voted against in the House – that $3,000 will go directly to this new, regressive energy tax.

But you don’t have to take my word on how much this new so-called energy policy will cost each Missouri household. A Massachusetts Institute of Technology study of similar cap and trade policies estimates the costs passed on to consumers because of offset purchases are about $250 a month, $3,000 a year.

Unfortunately, the damage this bill does to our economy doesn’t stop with increasing taxes. American manufacturers could be forced out of business because of the unfair advantage new government regulations in this provision give foreign companies.

This type of energy policy will be even more damaging to states like Missouri where almost 90 percent of electricity is coal generated and where consumers will pay even more than the average American under the Democrat plan.

Now, I’m not saying there is anything wrong with the ultimate goal of protecting our environment. I just think we need to look at the real ramifications this will have on our already struggling economy. Our nation does, in fact, need a new energy policy, but we need one similar to the all of the above strategy I advocated for last year – more conservation, more domestic production and more reliance on alternative fuels. Not a new tax under the ruse of an energy plan.

Our only hope for blocking this troubling tax is in the hands of about a dozen Democratic Senators that have expressed reservations about using this reconciliation budget maneuver. Senator Robert Byrd (D-WV), a senior Democrat who wrote budget rules in the 1970s, said, “Americans have an inalienable right to a careful examination of proposals that dramatically affect their lives. … I am certain that putting . . . climate change legislation on a freight train through Congress is an outrage that must be resisted.”

He even characterizes the whole reconciliation process of skirting the normal Senate procedure as, “an undemocratic disservice to our people,” which “essentially says ‘take it or leave it’ to the citizens who sent us here to solve problems, and … prevents members from representing their constituents’ interests.” That’s a pretty harsh charge.

Unfortunately, the Senate Democratic Leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, doesn’t share Senator Byrd’s opinion. Senator Reid expressed support for using this shortcut maneuver to push through a cap and trade program. The Democratic Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, has joined him in supporting this legislative cram-down.

Congress shouldn’t even be considering a new energy tax when too many families are worried about paying their current bills and saving for the future, much less putting it on a fast track to limit debate and almost assuring its passage.

Congress will be voting on the final budget very soon. While the Democratic majority in the House is pretty much guaranteed to support a budget allowing Congress to pass an energy tax with little debate, there are a number of Democrats in the Senate – including Senator Claire McCaskill – who are considering doing the right thing and protecting Missourians from new taxes.

These Senate Democrats are facing intense pressure from their party to vote for this final budget. They need to hear your voice and need your support in opposing this new energy tax.

Roy Blunt is a Republican congressman from Missouri.