Senators Rally Conservative Support for $2 Trillion Carbon Fee Bill

Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) have proposed a bill that would establish an economy-wide tax on carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions.
“My bill sets the fee for a ton of carbon at $45 in 2016, the central range of the social cost of carbon as estimated by OMB, and would increase it each year at a real 2 percent. When emissions fall 80 percent below 2005 levels, the annual adjustment would fall to inflation,” Whitehouse said at the American Enterprise Institute when presenting the American Opportunity Carbon Fee Act.


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WP: Obama pledges sweeping climate change legislation

WASHINGTON POST, 6/2/2010 by Michael D. Sheer - PITTSBURGH -- President Obama on Wednesday promised to find the votes for comprehensive climate change legislation in the "coming months," saying the case for putting a price on the nation's addiction to carbon has been made clear by the environmental catastrophe unfolding in the Gulf of Mexico. ∴ In a speech at Carnegie Mellon University released by the White House, the president repeated his intentions to roll back billions of dollars in tax breaks on big oil companies, tap natural gas reserves as an alternative to oil, and increase reliance on nuclear power. Read more at the Washington Post... Read More......

US House passes Waxman-Markey (Cap and Trade)

Friday (6/26), the House of Representatives passed H.R. 2454: American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (known as Cap and Trade or Cap and Tax) by a slim margin. The final vote was 219-212. Crossing party lines, eight Republicans voted for the bill and 44 Democrats voted against it including Rep. Peter DeFazio. The vote of the entire House is listed by party at Americans for Prosperity (AFP) Blog.

Oregon Representatives voted thus: Peter DeFazio (D-Dist 4) No, Greg Walden (R-Dist 2) No, Earl Blumenauer (D-Dist 3) Yes, Kurt Schrader (D-Dist 5) Yes, and David Wu (D-Dist 1) Yes.

The eight Republicans who voted "FOR" H.R. 2454 are: Mary Bono [Mack] (R-CA), Michael N. Castle (R-DE), Mark Kirk (R-IL), Leonard Lance (R-NJ), Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ), John M. McHugh (R-NY), David G. Reichert (R-WA), and Chris Smith (R-NJ).

Next step: The U.S. Senate
Let your Oregon Senators know how you feel.
Sen. Jeff Merkley (D), DC (202) 224-3753, Fax (202) 228-3997, Salem (503) 362-8102
Sen. Roy Wyden (D), DC (202) 224-5244, Fax (202) 228-2717, Salem (503) 589-4555.

ADDITION: Did they read the bill? See related article at Sweetness & Light... Read More......

Obama: The Grand Strategy

WASHINGTON POST, 4/24/2009, by Charles Krauthammer (H/t: John H. Detweiler) - Unified theory of Obamaism, fifth (final?) installment: In the service of his ultimate mission -- the leveling of social inequalities -- President Obama offers a tripartite social democratic agenda: nationalized health care, federalized education (ultimately guaranteed through college) and a cash-cow carbon tax (or its equivalent) to subsidize the other two. ∴ Problem is, the math doesn't add up. Not even a carbon tax would pay for Obama's vastly expanded welfare state. Nor will Midwest Democrats stand for a tax that would devastate their already crumbling region. Read more at the Washington Post... Read More......