RISING ONCE AGAIN FROM THE BOWELS OF CONGRESS:  LATEST CLIMATE BILL (updated: May 16, 2010)

The bill has been published as of Thursday the 13th.  initial comments from the American Thinker.

Bloomberg reports, “Climate-Change Bill Avoids ‘Cap-and-Trade’ Tag in U.S. Senate.”

“Now Graham, John Kerry, a Massachusetts Democrat, and independent Joe Lieberman of Connecticut are preparing to introduce a compromise bill in the Senate. They have indicated it will include a mandatory, declining limit on carbon emissions in the electric-power industry while giving utilities the right to buy and sell carbon allowances.   “The senators aren’t calling it ‘cap-and-trade,’ though. The legislation is about ‘pricing carbon,’ Graham told reporters in Washington last month.”  (emphasis added)

EPA’s definition of cap-and-trade:

“A cap and trade program first sets an aggressive cap, or maximum limit, on emissions. Sources covered by the program then receive authorizations to emit in the form of emissions allowances, with the total amount of allowances limited by the cap. Each source can design its own compliance strategy to meet the overall reduction requirement, including the sale or purchase of allowances, installation of pollution controls, and implementation of efficiency measures, among other options.” (emphasis added)

The sponsors of the bill can call it a Clean Energy and Security Bill (tried that), the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Bill (tried that), or the Clean American Jobs and Low Energy Prices Bill (guess for the new name) but it won’t change the fact that it is going to cap emissions and require companies  trade emission credits (for at least utilities and manufacturing).

It is therefore, at root, a cap-and-trade bill.  And as we all know, under President Obama’s cap-and-trade plan, electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket.   It is still unclear how the bill will reduce emissions from transportation, the source of 33% of energy-related emissions.  A gas tax (whether imposed on consumers or to the companies themselves) would be ineffective.

All the above rate increases and taxing is in response to the false premise of man-caused global warming.

ACTION PLAN:  To be posted after bill is published, and we have had a chance to review it.  Hang in there!  We want to get it right.  The bill has been published as of Thursday the 13th.  Initial comments from the American Thinker.

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