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Will it force America to use more renewable energy and curb pollution? Or will it more likely cost the average household about $1,600 a year? Maybe both. Cap-and-trade legislation pending before the U.S. Senate would do a lot of things, including capping carbon emissions and using more renewable energy.
U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-New Mexico, introduced a clean energy bill in the Senate last summer. It cleared the Energy and Natural Resources Committee and now awaits its turn on the Senate floor. “Getting America running on clean energy is our goal. This bill will help shift our country to cleaner sources of energy and more secure sources as well. The bipartisan, substantive and forward-looking approaches to energy found in this bill will move America toward the clean jobs and economic growth we need,” Bingaman said in a statement. Bingaman’s bill, among other things, accelerates the introduction of new clean energy technologies in the United States. But like any proposal, this one has its strong proponents and opponents. Among those who favor it is Ben Ray Lujan, a Democrat who represents Northern New Mexico. “Our country’s dependence on foreign oil threatens our economy and security,” Lujan said after the House voted last June to pass the Waxman-Markey bill. “We need to take bold steps to become energy independent by growing a new energy economy.” U.S. Rep. Harry Teague, a Democrat from Hobbs, also voted for the Waxman-Markey bill. He’s running for re-election against former U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce, a Republican from Hobbs. Pearce opposes the cap-and-trade bill, but could not be reached for comment. Others blast the bill. Cap-and-trade has received most of the media attention, but the majority of the Waxman-Markey legislation “could create economic harm just as great as cap and trade,” the Institute for Energy Research said, adding that the bill might still be “the most far-reaching counterproductive package of new taxes, transfers and obstacles to economic growth and liberty ever assembled in one bill.” Lujan says the Waxman-Markey bill can “make America the global leader in energy technology, cut costly and harmful pollution, create new jobs and save billions in the long run.” Lujan included language in the measure for more green energy training and jobs. His office says the bill creates new jobs and “helps businesses grow through clean energy project financing, a renewable electricity standard and a robust and secure national electricity transmission highway.” The bill also aims to “protect consumers by making energy markets more transparent and fair and by providing new tools to fight market manipulation,” Lujan says. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the resulting increases in consumer prices from the cap-and-trade bill would raise the cost of living of a typical household by $1,600 a year. Some studies estimate the cost to households could be substantially higher, according to a column by Martin Feldstein in The Washington Post. Feldstein is a Harvard economics professor and former president of the National Bureau of Economic Research. “The public quite quickly has come to understand that cap-and-trade is merely another tax,” Feldstein says. “Though Waxman-Markey is superficially concerned with efficiency, in reality, the bill is an incredibly large and diverse package of inefficient projects, regulations and transfers.” Contact Brad Buck at (505) 629-4408 or
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