Carbon Fee Bill Introduced in the Senate

[Judi Lynn]

Published on Wednesday, November 19, 2014

by EcoWatch

Carbon Fee Bill Introduced in the Senate

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse estimates the tax, if enacted, could generate between $1.5 trillion and $2 trillion in the first decade.

by Anastasia Pantsios, EcoWatch

While some of his Democratic colleagues joined with Republicans in pushing the Keystone XL pipeline, Rhode Island Senator Sheldon Whitehouse and Hawaii Senator Brian Schatz had something different in mind. Today they unveiled the American Opportunity Carbon Fee Act.

Whitehouse, chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Clean Air and Nuclear Safety, has long been an advocate for climate action. His official website features a page called “Climate Change: Time to Wake Up” and he has made 80 speeches in the Senate on the topic, giving one per week. In late October, he announced that he would propose a carbon pollution fee, with details to be introduced in the next few weeks. Today he revealed those details.

In his speech today, he pointed out the environmental impact of carbon emissions from burning fossil fuels. He said it is “changing the atmosphere and the oceans. We see it in storm-damaged homes and flooded cities. We see it in drought-stricken farms and raging wildfires. We see it in fish disappearing from warming, acidifying waters. We see it in shifting habitats and migrating contagions.” And those things, he said, carry costs to homeowners, businesses and taxpayers—the “social cost of carbon.”

“None of those costs from carbon pollution are factored into the price of the coal, oil or natural gas that releases this carbon,” he said. “The fossil fuel companies have offloaded those costs onto society. That’s just not fair. By making their carbon pollution free, we subsidize fossil fuel companies to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars annually. By making their carbon pollution free, we rig the game, giving polluters an unfair advantage over newer and cleaner technologies. It’s a form of cheating, and corporate polluters love it because it gives them advantage. But it’s wrong.”

More:
http://www.commondreams.org/news/2014/11/19/carbon-fee-bill-introduced-senate

[Agnosticsherbet]

1. Now, if enough people showed up to elect a Democratic House and Senate in then next Congress this

would be a reality.

[cprise]

2. The 2009-2011 Congress had a Dem. majority

And the benefit of a Dem. President.

[Agnosticsherbet]

3. And it a passed health care overhaul legislation to save the economy from a sucking black hole.

This bill has 0 chance of being enacted into law with Republicans. It has some chance of being enacted into law with Democrats.

With Republicans owning the house and moving into a 2 year stay (at minimum) in the Senate, this is either a tease or an attempt to get it on record for the 2016 election.

Essentially, in this political climate it is meaningless.