12 Jun 2007 Letter: Letter to Caterpillar CEO James Owens

June 12, 2007 Mr. James W. Owens Chief Executive Officer Caterpillar, Inc. 100 North East Adams Street Peoria, IL 61629 Dear Mr. Owens, You recently acknowledged that excessive regulations harm Caterpillar’s bottom line, noting in your 2006 Annual Report to Stakeholders that Caterpillar’s on-highway truck engine business would drop significantly in 2007 due to new emissions regulations. That’s why we were astonished to see that Caterpillar had joined the United States Climate Action Partnership (USCAP), which seeks to establish a cap-and-trade system for carbon emissions. If such a system is established, many of the industries upon which Caterpillar depends would be harmed. As you may know, the Congressional Budget Office reported in April that the oil, gas and coal industries – upon which Caterpillar depends for sales – would be particularly hard hit by the establishment of a cap-and-trade system. For example, a cap designed to reduce emissions by 23% would result in a 54% devaluation of coal stock value and a 40% decline in coal production. Do you think a 40% reduction in coal production is likely to boost or reduce your sales to this industry? Other Caterpillar customers will be affected, too. How many sales will you be making to farmers if they can make more money from sequestration than from harvesting crops? Let’s be clear about the objectives of some of your coalition partners. The Natural Resources Defense Council, National Wildlife Federation, and Environmental Defense have a long history of opposing the very industries that are Caterpillar’s best customers, often through expensive litigation. Rather than help deliver your loyal customers to the legal sharks of the environmental movement, Caterpillar should help its customers fight the onslaught of unnecessary emissions caps and regulations that would harm them. We ask that you immediately withdraw from the United States Climate Action Partnership. The undersigned represent a diverse group grassroots property rights organizations, think tanks, page 2 seniors advocates, taxpayer action groups, construction firms, farmers, ranchers and miners – a number of which are current Caterpillar customers. If Caterpillar can’t be loyal to its customers and consumers, perhaps there’s no reason to be loyal to Caterpillar. Sincerely, David Ridenour Vice President National Center for Public Policy Research Roger C. Herrera President Northern Knowledge Paul M. Weyrich National Chairman Coalitions for America Bruce A. Griffith President Griffith Lumber Co., Inc. Robert A. Drummond Southern Regional Director Assoc. of Consulting Foresters of America Greg Blankenship President Illinois Policy Institute James Martin President 60 Plus Paul K. Driessen Senior Policy Advisor Congress of Racial Equality Paul Gessing President Rio Grande Foundation Mychal Massie Chairman of the Advisory Council Project 21 Richard Falknor Executive Vice-President Maryland Taxpayers Association, Inc. Bruce Colbert Executive Director Property Owners Assoc. of Riverside County Robert E. Murray Chairman, President & CEO Murray Energy Corporation Matt Kibbe President FreedomWorks Myron Ebell Director, Energy & Global Warming Policy Competitive Enterprise Institute Drew Johnson President Tennessee Center for Policy Research James W. Jarrell Excavating Contractor Jarrell’s Excavating, Inc. Lew Uhler Founder and President National Tax Limitation Committee Jeffrey Mazzella President Center for Individual Freedom John McClaughry President Ethan Allen Institute Michael H. Smith President Thomas More Institute Carol LaGrasse President Property Rights Foundation of America Lenore Barrett State Representative Idaho Fred Grau Executive Director Take Back Pennsylvania Hon. Edwin Meese, III Former U.S. Attorney General Reagan Administration J. William Lauderback Executive Vice President American Conservative Union Hon. Malcolm Wallop Chairman Frontiers of Freedom Roger Jones Engineer Red River Coal Company, Inc. Maxine Korman Korman Ranch Hinsdale, Montana Jerry Fennell Owner, Silver Eagle Mining Co. Chairman, Jicarilla Mining District Ken Boehm Chairman National Legal and Policy Center Terrence Scanlon President Capital Research Center Tim Cranston Director of Operations and Finance Property & Environment Research Center* Jerry S. Hamilton Environmental Coordinator Formation Capital Corporation, US Dan Byfield President American Land Foundation Mark Chmura Executive Director Americans for the Preservation of Liberty page 3 C. Preston Noell, III President Tradition, Family, Property, Inc. Richard Rowland President Grassroot Institute of Hawaii Chuck Cushman President American Land Rights Association Timothy La Farge Former Forest Geneticist USDA Forest Service Dane vonBreichenruchardt President U.S. Bill of Rights Foundation Eugene Delgaudio President Public Advocate E. Calvin Beisner Interfaith Stewardship Alliance* Gary Morrison Farmer Alan Caruba Author and Columnist Rachel Thomas American Citizen Steve Hammond Paladin for Property Rights Alexandra Mulkern Southern Maryland Gary Wiggins ESAinfo.org Judy Boyle Property Rights Activist Idaho Stephen L. Ralston Columbia, Pennsylvania Linda C. Runbeck President American Property Coalition Roy Cordato Vice President and Resident Scholar John Locke Foundation Dr. Walter Block Professor of Economics Loyola University New Orleans Dr. Michael Sanera Research Director John Locke Foundation Jim Vogt President Taxpayers for Accountable Government Robert T. Fanning, Jr. Chairman and Founder Friends of the North Yellowstone Elk Herd Dennis LaComb Executive Director United Republican Fund Franklin Cudjoe Executive Director The Centre for Humane Education Sharon Votow Chair Homestead Land and Water Alliance Mary E. Darling Principal Owner Darling Environmental and Surveying Linda C. Runbeck President American Property Coalition Sarah Foster Columnist WorldNetDaily.com Paula Easley Anchorage, Alaska Gilbert Reeves Member Coalition of Arizona/New Mexico Counties Patrick C. Hughes Computer Clinic Dr. Don Racheter Founder and Moderator Iowa Wednesday Group Craig Rucker Executive Director Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow Tom Borelli, Ph.D. Portfolio Manager Free Enterprise Action Fund John Taylor President Virginia Institute for Public Policy James C. Vadnais Consulting Forester Port Angeles, Washington Ron Arnold Executive Vice President Center for the Defense of Free Enterprise Holt and Jane Hogan Owners Ontario Hardwood Company Stephen Stone President RenewAmerica Tom DeWeese President American Policy Center Marilyn F. Hayman Chairman, Citizens for Responsible Zoning & Landowner Rights, Inc. Sam Slom President Small Business Hawaii Brian Bishop Director Rhode Island Wiseuse Henry McCarthy American Citizen Leo Schwartz Chairman Virginia Land Rights Coalition Mark Pollot Boise, Idaho page 4 Rance Frye Acquisitions Manager Waterfront Group * Organization listed for informational purposes only. For more information, contact: David Ridenour or Peyton Knight The National Center for Public Policy Research 501 Capitol Court, NE Washington, DC 20002 (202) 543-4110 [email protected] or [email protected]