The narrow House passage is seen as a victory for President Barack Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who pushed the measure through despite worries that it will push up electricity and [image-nocss] fuel prices, including retail gasoline prices, said The Dallas Morning News.
The legislation would limit greenhouse-gas emissions and create what supporters call a "cap-and-trade" system (and which opponents call a "cap-and-tax" system) of pollution permits while funding investment in new energy sources. It aims to cut greenhouse-gas emissions in the United States from power plants, factories, oil refineries and the fuels burned by cars and trucks 17% below 2005 levels by 2020, said Bloomberg.
The 1,200-page bill must be passed by the Senate, where, according to the report, Republicans have said that the close vote in the House does not bode well for its eventual passage. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Friday that he hoped his chamber would debate the legislation in the fall.
"We have taken decisive and historic action to promote America's energy security and to create millions of clean energy jobs that will drive our economic recovery and long-term growth," said Waxman. "After more than three decades of being held hostage to the influence of foreign energy suppliers, this legislation at long last begins to break our addiction to imported foreign oil and put us on a path to true energy security."
"The House has passed the most important energy and environment bill in our nation's history," said Markey. "Scientists say that global warming is a dangerous man-made problem. Today we are saying clean energy will be the American-made solution. This legislation will create jobs by the millions, save money by the billions and unleash investment in clean energy by the trillions." (Click hereto view the Waxman-Markey ACES Resource Packet.)
Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.), ranking Republican on the House Select Committee on Energy Independence & Global Warming, said: "Today, House Democratic leaders rammed through a so-called climate bill that will raise the electric bills, grocery bills and gasoline costs for...everyone in the nation. I called this bill cap-and-tax because it slips a hidden tax into your electric bill. This tax won't be listed on your bill, but you will know it's there. The Wall Street Journal has said this bill could be the biggest tax increase in history."
"This terrible legislation...won't only cost money, it will also cost this country jobs. One study forecasts that this bill would kill 1.1 million American jobs..... It is my hope that the President Obama vetoes the cap-and-tax bill."
The President said the legislation would help transform the nation's economy and create millions of new jobs in alternative energy industries, said Bloomberg. In his weekly address on the radio and the Internet, Obama said incentives to develop technologies such as wind, solar and geothermal power would reduce the nation's dependence on fossil fuels and lead to a stronger economy.
"The nation that leads in the creation of a clean energy economy will be the nation that leads the 21st century global economy," he said.
"Make no mistake: This is a jobs bill," Obama said. "This legislation will finally make clean energy the profitable kind of energy. That will lead to the creation of new businesses and entire new industries. And that will lead to American jobs that pay well and cannot be outsourced." (Click here to view the webcast or read a transcript of the address.)
House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio), delivering the weekly Republican radio and web address, disputed such characterizations of the bill. The measure will "ship millions of jobs to competitors like China and India," Boehner said. "We should be creating American jobs, not destroying them."
Costs associated with the legislation will impose "a tax on every American who drives a car or flips on a light switch," he said. "This plan will drive up the prices of food, gasoline and electricity." (Click here to view the webcast of the address.)American Petroleum Institute (API) president Jack Gerard said, "The House has chosen to ignore the legislation's harmful effects on American consumers, businesses and the economy. At a time when America is trying to recover from a serious recession, the House has approved legislation that would cost energy users billions of dollars and add new stress to the economy. Independent analysis shows the bill could add substantially to the cost of fuels for consumers and businesses. According to the Heritage Foundation, the House legislation could cause gasoline prices to jump 74% by 2035. At today's prices that means gasoline would be well over $4 a gallon.... We are hopeful that the Senate will produce a bill that does not harm the economy and includes a more balanced approach to transportation fuels."The National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) sent a letter to Congress urging it to take a more balanced approach to energy legislation, adding, "NACS is concerned that certain provisions in pending legislation (such as the allocation of allowances) may result in dramatically higher costs for motor fuels, which will significantly distress our customers. We are further concerned that if these costs materialize, Congress will once again seek to intervene to protect consumers from retail motor fuel costs which are beyond the industry's control." (Click here to view the full letter.)(Alsoclick here for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency'spage on Cap & Trade.)
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