Chris+&+Harrison 

__Affirmative:__ Highway Trust Fund -Energy Policy -Deficits -Transitions -Solvency

Manufacturing advantage is a distinct possibility

(American Road and Transportation Builders Association to the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform “The Contribution of the Federal Transportation Investment Programs to Fiscal Responsibility and Deficit Reduction,” pg online @ [|**http://www.fiscalcommission.gov/sites/fiscalcommission.gov/files/documents/ARTBA.pdf**]//um-ef)//
 * First, transportation infrastructure is financed in one of two ways – through the general fund, or through increased revenue – Stimulus Programs finance through the general fund while failing to repair the Highway Trust Fund **
 * Artba 2k10 **
 * __Transportation Investment __**

(Tanya Snyder became Streetsblog's Capitol Hill editor in September 2010 after covering Congress for Pacifica and public radio. She lives car-free in a transit-oriented and bike-friendly neighborhood of Washington, DC., pg online @ []  um-ef) __Congressional leaders __ announced
 * Second **, **Congress just passed a MASSIVE transportation bill – it should have triggered your disads, but didn’t fix the Highway Trust Fund**
 * Snyder 6/26 **


 * ADVANTAGE ONE IS ENERGY POLICY **


 * First, current Federal Energy Strategies fail – they impose market distortions, and ineffective constraints on private industry **

(Evan N. Turgeon, Legal Associate at the Cato Institute; J.D.University of Virginia School of Law 2009; B.A. Tufts University 2004, “Triple-Dividends: Toward Pigovian Gasoline Taxation,” Journal of Land, Resources, & Envir onmental Law 2010, pg lexis//um-ef)// __<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">The U __<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 5pt;">nited __<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">S __<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 5pt;">tates __<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">' current energy policies __
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 11pt;">Turgeon 2k10 **


 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 11pt;">And, these Energy strategies gut U.S. Foreign Policy strategy – they ensure ineffective diplomatic leverage and lack of U.S. legitimacy **

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">(Evan N. Turgeon, Legal Associate at the Cato Institute; J.D.University of Virginia School of Law 2009; B.A. Tufts University 2004, “Triple-Dividends: Toward Pigovian Gasoline Taxation,” Journal of Land, Resources, & Envir onmental Law 2010, pg lexisum-ef) <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 5pt;">C. Foreign Policy Detriment In 1828, James Madison expressed his fear that insufficient governmental intervention in economic matters might betray American interests, writing, "[a] nation leaving its foreign trade, in all cases, to regulate itself, might soon find it regulated, by other nations, into a subserviency to a foreign interest ... ." n47 Just this has occurred in petroleum markets. "To the extent OPEC could maintain high and stable world oil prices, it replaced the [government supply] and import controls that had set the terms for energy markets in the United States for many [*154] years before the [1973 energy] crisis." n48 Since the crisis, OPEC-controlled petroleum markets have cost Americans dearly. n49 Ensuring a steady supply of foreign oil requires enormous foreign policy expenditures, which must be considered in evaluating the appropriateness of current energy policies. 1. Wealth Transfers to OPEC In 2007 alone, the United States imported over 4.9 billion barrels of oil. n50 At an average price of $ 66.29 per barrel, n51 this works out to over $ 325 billion sent overseas. Not only do these expenditures represent lost opportunities for the domestic economy, n52 but much of this money was sent to countries such as Russia, Iran, and Venezuela - countries whose strategic objectives conflict with those of the United States in many policy areas. Revenue from oil sales provides these countries the financial resources to expand their national powers, potentially to the detriment of the United States. n53 Especially problematic is the fact that OPEC member countries control 41% of the world petroleum reserves under national oil companies. n54 In the middle of the 20th century, the "Seven Sisters," a group of privately held oil companies, exerted a great deal of control over oil markets, and "responded to price signals to explore, invest, and promote technologies necessary to increase production." n55 The oligopoly of national oil companies that now control oil markets operate under vastly different incentives, limiting investment and restricting production to keep prices high and prolong the production horizon. n56 In <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 8pt;">so doing, <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 5pt;">OPEC reaps profits by undermining economic efficiency in world oil markets. n57 [*155] 2. Costly International Relations Moreover, __<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 20pt;">the U __<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 9pt;">nited __<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 20pt;">S __<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 9pt;">tates __<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 20pt;">' <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">military, __
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 11pt;">Turgeon 2k10 **


 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 11pt;">That lack of legitimacy ensures Nuclear and CBW War **

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">(Jeffrey, March, Director of the Berglund Center for Internet Studies, holds the Matsushita Chair of Asian Studies at Pacific University, Ph.D. in history from UC Berkeley, 2K2, “American Power, Globalism, and the Internet: Editorial Essay”, The Journal of Education, Community and Values, http://bcis.pacificu.edu/journal/2002/03/editorial.php#6) <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 5pt;">Much of Nye’s analysis is intended to make a relatively simple point: That __<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 10pt;"> the U __<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 5pt;">nited __<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 10pt;">S __<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 5pt;">tates __<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 10pt;"> is __
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 11pt;">Dr. Barlow 2k2 **


 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 11pt;">But effective Multilateralism – led by the United States Solves – prevents multiple triggers for conflict and destruction **

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 9pt;">Dr **<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 11pt;">. Zakaria 2k8 ** <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">(Fareed, Ph.D. in Government from Harvard University, & editor of Foreign Affairs magazine & Newsweek Internationa & professor of IR and political philosophy at Harvard and Columbia University, “Wanted: A New Grand Strategy”, 12/8/08, <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">[] <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> ) __<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">The "Global Trends __<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 5pt;">" report __<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">identifies several __

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">(Michael, “34.1 MPG CAFE Standards for 2016 Upheld by U.S. Court of Appeals” http://www.treehugger.com/cars/341-mpg-cafe-standards-2016-upheld-us-court-appeals.html//HH)// __<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">The 2012-2016 Corporate Average Fuel __
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 11pt;">And, specifically new CAFE regulations are coming – **
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 11pt;">Greene 6/28 **

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">(Mike, “How Will Obama’s EPA Regulations Affect the Auto Industry?”, http://www.askheritage.org/how-will-obamas-epa-regulations-affect-the-auto-industryHH) __<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Say goodbye to cars and trucks as you __
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 11pt;">They’ll collapse job growth and the Auto Sector **
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 11pt;">Brownfield 11 **


 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 11pt;">And, Auto Recovery is essential to U.S. Economic recovery – the auto industry will drive other sectors and ensure job growth **

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">(“Is the U.S. Auto Industry on Track for a Comeback?,” pg online @ <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">[] <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> //um-ef)// __<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">More than three years after bad __
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 11pt;">U.S. News 2k12 **


 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 11pt;">And, a weak economy causes conflict – all empirical analysis goes our way **

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 5pt;">Less intuitive is how __<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">periods of economic decline may __
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 11pt;"> Royal 10 **<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">– Jedediah Royal, Director of Cooperative Threat Reduction at the U.S. Department of Defense, (Economic Integration, Economic Signaling and the Problem of Economic Crises, Economics of War and Peace: Economic, Legal and Political Perspectives, ed. Goldsmith and Brauer, p. 213-215)


 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 11pt;">Finally, an increased gas tax is the transition method – it transforms U.S. foreign policy and re-energizes U.S. Diplomacy **

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">(Evan N. Turgeon, Legal Associate at the Cato Institute; J.D.University of Virginia School of Law 2009; B.A. Tufts University 2004, “Triple-Dividends: Toward Pigovian Gasoline Taxation,” Journal of Land, Resources, & Envir onmental Law 2010, pg lexisum-ef)
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 11pt;">Turgeon 2k10 **
 * __<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Significantly increasing federal taxes __**


 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 11pt;">ADVANTAGE TWO IS THE DEFICIT **


 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 11pt;">First, the deficit is on an unsustainable path – now is the CRITICAL time to re-orient policies to stave-off a new debt tragedy **

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">(“U.S. Deficits and the National Debt,” pg online @ <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">[] <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> //um-ef)// <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 5pt;">At some point __<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">in the not-too-distant future, analysts say, investors may __
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 11pt;">Council on Foreign Relations 3/2 **<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">/12


 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">And, the plan is a KEY TEST for future budget debates – increasing revenue ensures a sustainable fiscal path **

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">(“A fiscal test for Congress,” pg lexisum-ef) __<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Over the past year, many Republicans and __
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Washington Post 3/7 **


 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 11pt;">And, Failure to Reign-In Deficits and Establish Fiscal Discipline Guts U.S.-China Relations they’ll be over-aggressive gutting cooperation **

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 8pt;">(Eswar, Eswar Prasad holds the New Century Chair in International Economics. He is the Tolani Senior Professor of Trade Policy at Cornell University and a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research. He was previously head of the Financial Studies Division and the China Division at the IMF, “The U.S.-China Economic Relationship: Shifts and Twists in the Balance of Power,” pg online @ <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 8pt;">[] <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 8pt;"> //um-ef)// __<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">The lopsided nature of trade and financial __
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 11pt;">Prasad 2/25 **

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 5pt;">China's development needs a peaceful international environment, particularly in its periphery. We will continue to play a constructive role in global and regional affairs and sincerely look forward to amicable coexistence and friendly cooperation with all other countries, the United States included. We will continue to push for good-neighborliness, friendship and partnership and dedicate ourselves to peace, stability and prosperity in the region. Thus China's development will also mean stronger prospect of peace in the Asia-Pacific region and the world at large. __<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 10pt;">China and the US should __<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 5pt;">, and can, __<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 10pt;"> work together for peace, stability and prosperity __<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 5pt;">i
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 11pt;">Multiple Scenarios for Extinction **
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 11pt;">Wenzhong ****<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 11pt;">04 **<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">PRC Ministry of Foreign Affairs, (Zhou, “Vigorously Pushing Forward the Constructive and Cooperative Relationship Between China and the United States,” <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Georgia,serif; text-decoration: none;">[] <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">)


 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 11pt;">ADVANTAGE THREE IS TRANSITION **


 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 11pt;">First, renewable energy development is inevitable globally – the question is whether the U.S. will be a global leader **

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">(Phyllis Cuttino Director, Pew Clean Energy Program “A Bright Future for Renewable Energy,” pg online @ <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">[] <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> um-ef) __<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">The current market for the renewable __
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 11pt;">Cuttino 2k12 **


 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 11pt;">And, failure to provide a consistent price signal ensures the U.S. falls behind in renewable leadership **

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">(“U.S. Clean Energy Policies Risk Losing Lead Over China,” pg online @ http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-12/u-s-clean-energy-policies-risk-losing-lead-over-china.html //um-ef)//
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 11pt;">Bloomberg 4/12 **<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 11pt;">/12
 * __<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">The U.S. government is creating a __**


 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 11pt;">The plan is the requisite price signal – investors will jump at renewables and away from oil at the plan’s inception **

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">(Adam, J.D., University of Iowa College of Law, 2010; B.A., Wake Forest University, PHd Student @ Univ of Indiana, “Why the Government Should Drink Your Milkshake: The Case for Restructuring the Federal Gas Tax,” The Journal of Corporation Law Winter, 2009, 35 Iowa J. Corp. L. 393 pg lexisum-ef) <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 5pt;">A. The Need for a Price Signal __<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> **Volatile oil prices and** __
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 11pt;">Abelkop 2k9 **


 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 11pt;">And, Renewable Transition spurs innovation – creates the World’s First Green Hegemon Locking-in U.S. Dominance and ensuring U.S. Global Energy Advantages **

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">(Louis, Professor, Center for Global Affairs, New York University “Securing American Primacy While Tackling Climate Change: Toward a National Strategy of Greengemony,” pg online @ <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">[] <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> //ghs-ef) <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 5pt;">As national leaders from around the world are gathering in Copenhagen, Denmark, to attend the United Nations Climate Change Conference, __<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">the time is ripe to re-assess __
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 11pt;">Klarevas 2k9 **

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Gray 04 <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">, Professor of International Politics and Strategic Studies at the University of Reading, and founded of the National Institute for Public Policy, (Colin, “The Sheriff: America’s Defense of the New World Order, pg. 6-10) <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">World order <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 5pt;">is neither self-enforcing nor is it comprehensively enforceable. Nonetheless, every such “order” <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">requires a sheriff <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 5pt;">, or some other agent of discipline. In the
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 11pt;">That solves Nuclear Conflict **

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Text

 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Text: The United States federal government should increase the federal excise tax rate and phase-in a price floor and variable tax on gasoline for transportation infrastructure in the United States. **

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">(Adam, J.D., University of Iowa College of Law, 2010; B.A., Wake Forest University, PHd Student @ Univ of Indiana, “Why the Government Should Drink Your Milkshake: The Case for Restructuring the Federal Gas Tax,” The Journal of Corporation Law Winter, 2009, 35 Iowa J. Corp. L. 393 pg lexis//um-ef)// __<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Congress should enact legislation to __
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">The plan solves – establishing a price floor sends a signal for renewable energy development, while increasing revenue for transportation infrastructure **
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Abelkop 2k9 **

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">(Charles, American Pulitzer Prize–winning syndicated columnist, political commentator, and physician, McGill University degree in political science and economics, Commonwealth Scholar in politics at Balliol College, Oxford, Doctor of Medicine from Harvard Medical School “The Net-Zero Gas Tax; A once-in-a-generation chance,” pg lexisum-ef) <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 5pt;">So why even think about it? Because __<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">the virtues of a gas tax __
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">The plan kills damaging CAFE Standards and transitions away from government interventions into the market **
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Krauthammer 2k9 **