FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – Thursday April 23, 2009
Contact: Mary Ellen Burke, (202) 349-5880 or mburke@afphq.org

Americans for Prosperity’s Hot Air Balloon Tour to Stop in Erie to Expose Hidden Energy Tax Hike in “Cap-and-Trade” Legislation, April 30

Free rides in AFP’s 70 foot hot air balloon will be provided to the public

ERIE – The free-market grassroots group Americans for Prosperity (AFP) is taking its nationwide Hot Air Balloon Tour to Erie on April 30th to expose the economic costs of President Obama, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid’s proposed cap and trade legislation to the American taxpayer.

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.”

On April 30th, the tour will stop at the First Family Sports Park. Attendees will have the chance to ride in AFP’s hot air balloon and listen to Americans for Prosperity President Tim Phillips speak on the economic dangers of cap and trade legislation. The event is free and open to the public. Food will be served.

The tour, which was first launched last spring in Washington, DC, has traveled to over two dozen other key locations around the country.

What: Erie Hot Air Tour Event
Who: Americans for Prosperity
When: Thursday, April 30
Time: 5:00pm
Where: First Family Sports Park
8155 Oliver Rd, Erie, PA‎

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