Republican Warns Energy Bill Means Sickness and Death

Rep. Paul Broun, a Georgia Republican, said this week that if the Democrats' energy bill passes, old people will face health problems, and "people are gonna die because of that."

"A lot of old people in Georgia and Florida and all out through the southeast and the southwest are dependent on air conditioning just to live," Broun said in a floor speech Wednesday night flagged by the liberal group Media Matters (watch at left).

He continued: "And if their electricity bills go sky high, as the energy tax is gonna make it happen, if that ever passes there are a lot of people that can't afford to run their air conditioning anymore and people actually are gonna have a hard time with hyperthermia is what I call it -- what we call it in medicine as a medical doctor -- which means that their body temperature's gonna go up, they're gonna have dehydration, and people are gonna have a lot of problems. And it's gonna make a greater impact on our health care system and people are gonna die because of that."

Broun added: "But it's gonna kill jobs too."

Sens. John Kerry and Joe Lieberman laid out their case for the bill last month. A study from the Peterson Institute for International Economics found the bill would actually reduce household expenditures on average, though Republicans dispute that claim.