House Passes Most Important Environmental And Energy Legislation in U.S. History
June 26, 2009 | Posted by Fred Krupp in News
The American Clean Energy and Security Act is the most important environmental and energy legislation in our nation's history. Today's vote is a huge achievement for the country and the climate, and we applaud Speaker Pelosi, Chairmen Waxman and Markey, and all members of the House who helped craft this landmark legislation and get it passed.
The bill that emerged from the House has the fundamental structure we need to significantly reduce carbon pollution while growing the economy. It puts a strong cap on emissions and reorients our energy market to make low-carbon power the goal. It ensures that utility rates will stay affordable and a competitive playing field for U.S. companies.
Today's vote opens the door for President Obama to sign comprehensive climate legislation into law this year. The extensive negotiations leading up to the vote helped form extraordinarily broad support for the bill as it moves to the Senate. Chairmen Waxmen and Markey bridged the traditional sectoral and regional divides of energy politics to produce legislation that has support from labor unions and businesses across the economy, to rural interests, environmental advocates, and agriculture groups.
The bill puts the U.S. on the path to significant emissions reductions, a stronger economy, and a new position of leadership in the global effort to protect the climate. We look forward to working with the Senate leadership to meet Majority Leader Reid's September target for finishing committee work on the bill.
9 Responses
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June 26th, 2009 at 6:33 pm
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Comment from thetruth
June 26th, 2009 at 9:25 pm
U guys are nuts. Global warming? Last decade it was global cooling. Why should anyone believe this mess?
Comment from beocon
June 26th, 2009 at 10:16 pm
I'm just as supportive of doubling utility rates as the next guy, but why is it that all the most important (expensive) legislation of our lifetime passes Congress without anyone reading it? Are you not the least bit suspicious?
Comment from summers stickney
June 27th, 2009 at 11:04 pm
just think this out,going to any hospital costs so much>but newer ones that are "real green" can generate cost saving power to offset overhead expenses ,put vertical wind turbines and power the local area grid at a fair profit the usa is open to these ideas but grid locked at making them a reality lets change that starting now.
Comment from mmmmax
June 28th, 2009 at 5:23 pm
Some may cry “Hurray” for this bill but I am suspicious of any government action where the legislators haven’t read the bill and most have no scientific background at all. This is simply politics of the rich and famous and may hurt or help the environment. Let me give an example.
I am a small family farmer growing organic vegetables. The Government has an environmental program that allows me to purchase a new tractor and receive a 50% price reduction paid for through taxes. This sounded very good to me to have my farm subsidized by taxes paid by others. I did a bit of research and found that my older tractor must have a 4-inch hole cut into the engine and the frame cut in half in order to receive the grant. I had thought that possibly the older tractors were sent to third world countries as US aid to poor farmers. Not so. They are cut up and sent to China to be melted down and made into new products. A bit more research and I discovered that China produces 100 million tons of steel and by doing so produces 87 million tons of carbon! So roughly a ton of carbon is dumped into the atmosphere for every ton os steel in China. My old tractor weighs 6 tons. So by taking the Federal tax money I will be adding 6 tons of carbon into the atmosphere and denying an Ethiopian of a good used tractor. I don’t like it. All is not what it seams on the surface. Beware of what legislators pass because it likely is just politics as usual.
Comment from Adam
June 28th, 2009 at 7:35 pm
This bill will equal the biggest tax hike in U.S history. This article does not explain the bill, probably because only very few people really know what it says. This bill is another way for government to control our lives. And you are kidding yourself if you think the Midwest is on board with this, and we are agriculture. And you give quotes from Obama about science, he is not even a qualified politician, now he is a scientist too? Give me a break.
Comment from Nicholas
June 30th, 2009 at 9:56 am
Actually, almost every credible climatologist acknowledges that climate change exists and is man-made. The Waxman-Markey Bill is projected to cost only 18 cents per-person per-day in 2020, according to the Congressional Budget Office; far from the biggest tax hike in history. In fact, when sea-level rise and the increasing price of gasoline are factored in, the bill will probably save American tax-payers billions of dollars and create millions of green jobs.
Mmmmax does bring up a good point, there are many government programs that are counter productive and should be replaced; the Obama administration has pledged to examine the budget "line by line" and cut the waste. Lets hope the senate passes this crucial piece of legislation, and does not take the 'politics as usual’ approach that most House Republicans took!
Pingback from Environmental Defense Fund: Climate Report - Life in a Very Different United States : Sustainablog
June 30th, 2009 at 2:23 pm
[...] American Clean Energy and Security Act, which would take us off the "business-as-usual" path, just passed the U.S. House. The [...]
Comment from Michael
July 1st, 2009 at 10:49 am
This is the biggest tax bill in our history that will do nothing to curb so called global warming. Say what you want about global warming, but even the so called experts canot agree on it's cause. Some say it is CO2 (what we exhale on every breathe by the way) others say it is caused by water vapor and clouds! This is Obama's response to the Cap and Tax bill – President Barack Obama on the cap and tax bill **In January 2008, Obama said, "[U]nder my plan of a cap and trade system, electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket … because I'm capping greenhouse gasses, coal power plants, natural gas … you name it … whatever the plants were, whatever the industry was, they would have to retro-fit their operations. That will cost money. …[T]hey will pass that money on to the consumers." He was right then and we the consumers will pay the price for a system that will benefit no one but big business as it will not achieve the goal that it was intended to do. You have become as biased as the main stream media has lately and only report what will make your case, instead of reporting the truth.