Burton: "New" Cap-and-Trade Plan Is A Trojan Horse
Under The Guise Of Greening America, The Policy Will Slowly Implement A Massive Tax On Industries and Consumers
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Now that the "new" Democrat Cap-and-Trade plan has emerged from the House Energy and Commerce Committee, what's still clear is that jobs and wealth will be sacrificed to make an indeterminable impact on the environment. Of the major changes in the legislation, The Wall Street Journal reports that, initially, only 15% of "greenhouse gas emission credits" will be auctioned while the rest are given away, as opposed to the original plan of auctioning 100% of the credits. Regardless, the legislation opens the door for the full weight of the cap-and-trade tax to be phased in over time. After reviewing the initial reports on the cap-and-trade plan that the House Energy and Commerce Committee will consider next week, Rep. Dan Burton (R-IN) issued the following statement:
"This is the camel's nose under the tent. You have virtually the same plan, with all the built-in destruction to American jobs and family budgets, but now there's some window dressing for the long-term economic impact of the bill. Auctioning fifteen percent of the emission credits is just the beginning. This is a tax that the Democrats will increase incrementally, and as they do so, it will create a slow bleed on our economy that will cost trillions of dollars and millions of jobs over time.
"Make no mistake; although the 'new' Democrat cap-and-trade legislation is slightly less aggressive in the short-term, it is just the first step toward implementing their full-scale tax plan. By waving the environmentally friendly banner as a headline, this legislation is a genuine Trojan horse filled with taxes, and an attack on American consumers and our various industries."
BACKGROUND:
Link to the text of HR 2454, the so-called "American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009"
From The Wall Street Journal:
"House Democratic energy leadership is planning to initially give away 85% of the greenhouse gas emission credits -- the right to emit -- as part of an agreement to win moderate support for a major climate and energy bill...
"...That's in contrast to President Barack Obama's push for a 100% auction of the credits, a trillion-dollar revenue raiser in the administration's budget for the years ahead. Many in the industry are likely to applaud the deal, but some environmental organizations say it won't reduce emissions enough to prevent what many scientists say is a trend toward global warming." ("House Energy Democrats To Give Away Majority of CO2 Credits" by Ian Talley, 5/15/09)
Posted by the Heritage Foundation on May 14th:
"The concessions, as reported by CQPolitics and the New York Times Greenwire, include:
• 17% carbon cuts by 2020 (instead of 20%), but later reductions do not change
• Allowances
o 35% of allowances to local electric distribution companies
o Trade-intensive industries, including pulp, paper, cement and steel,
also would get free credits — 15 percent starting in 2014 but phasing
out by 2 percent per year.(per NYT)
o “Some” allowances to auto industry for research on new technology
o Additional allowances to refineries pending – between 1 and 5 percent
• Renewable Portfolio Standard would drop to 15% by 2020, with another 5% from energy efficiency
o A 3% “Swinging Door” would allow states to meet RPS with 12-18
percent of renewables and the rest from efficiency
o Expands biomass definition and includes hydro built back as far as 1992
o Nuclear or CCS-coal plants would not count toward the baseline
• In 2025 President could impose carbon tariffs"
|