By Sen. James Inhofe
Special to Roll Call
Just in time for the United Nations Climate Change Conference, the chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee has scheduled a business meeting to consider legislation that seeks to impose mandatory global warming "solutions" on the American people. The global warming cap-and-trade bill (S. 2191) introduced by Sens. Joe Lieberman (ID-Conn.) and John Warner (R-Va.) seeks to regulate carbon dioxide by creating a whole new federal bureaucracy. In moving the bill out of committee, supporters of the bill are anxious for a symbolic "victory" just in time for their U.N. trip to Bali.
There is a better way for Congress to legislate. The American people deserve an open and honest debate on the merits of any proposed climate change legislation, especially considering that mandatory carbon cap-and-trade legislation will impose the largest tax increase ever in the U.S. without any measurable climate benefits. Consideration of the Lieberman-Warner bill, The Wall Street Journal reported in a Nov. 5 article, comes at a time when a "winter-heating crisis looms."
The consequences of higher fuel bills for poor Americans can be devastating. High energy bills were cited as one of the two main reasons for homelessness, according to a 2006 survey of Colorado homeless families with children. Because of the significant economic harm imposed on our country by this bill, I joined Sens. George Voinovich (R-Ohio) and John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) in requesting a full economic analysis by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Energy Information Administration before we proceed to a vote. Not knowing the extent of the economic damage resulting from this bill before we vote would be irresponsible. Read more...
Labels: Congress, Global Warming, Sen. Inhofe
Posted at 12/04/2007 05:52:00 PM
