House Democrats unveil draft climate change bill

[October 08, 2008]  WASHINGTON (AP) -- With the presidential election less than a month away and the economy reeling, House Democratic leaders on Tuesday unveiled a proposal to reduce the gases blamed for global warming from power plants, transportation and factories by 80 percent come 2050.

The draft legislation, which will be refined in coming months for introduction next year, would begin slowly, capping emissions of heat-trapping gases released by transportation and power plants first, then moving to other sectors of the economy. The money earned from auctioning off some of the permits would be redirected to energy efficiency and clean technologies. In later years, all permits would be sold with the proceeds going back to the taxpayer, unless Congress reauthorizes the bill.

"Politically, scientifically, legally, and morally, the question has been settled: regulation of greenhouse gases in the United States is coming," wrote House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman John Dingell, D-Mich., and energy and air quality subcommittee Chairman Rick Boucher, D-Va. in a letter explaining the 461-page draft, which has been in the works for two years and was the subject of more than two dozen hearings.

The only questions are when, and how.

With the economy in turmoil, prospects have dimmed for federal legislation that would create a massive new market for carbon dioxide and in the short-term likely increase energy costs. The draft also makes clear that the federal government should take the lead on regulating greenhouse gases, rebuffing states such as California that want to set their own fuel economy standards and pre-empting regional markets for carbon dioxide, such as the one in the Northeast.

The bill tries to address the economic concerns by excluding small businesses and increasing the number of permits when prices spike.

But Texas Rep. Joe Barton, the committee's senior Republican, said Tuesday the bill would still lead the country off "the economic cliff."

The proposal falls in between plans put forward by both presidential candidates, but makes deeper cuts than a similar bill that failed in the Senate earlier this year. All the proposals rely on a cap-and-trade mechanism -- which allows industries to either reduce their pollution or to purchase credits from companies exceeding pollution targets -- to meet mandates.

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's plan calls for an 83 percent reduction in greenhouse gases from 2005 levels by 2050, while Republican John McCain's proposal would achieve a 66 percent cut over the same time period. A Senate bill that failed 48-36 in June would have slashed heat-trapping emissions from a variety of sources by 71 percent by mid-century.

Environmentalists on Tuesday said the bill was a step in the right direction, but criticized the pace of the cuts and some of the details. Reductions wouldn't begin until 2012, allowing time for the necessary technology to be developed.

The proposal floats an option that would bar the Environmental Protection Agency and states from setting fuel economy standards for vehicles different from those put forth by the Transportation Department. In April 2007, the Supreme Court ruled that the EPA could regulate carbon dioxide under the Clean Air Act. The Bush administration has since said the law is the wrong tool for the job.

"These options are straight from the playbook of the Big Three," said Frank O'Donnell, president of the advocacy group Clean Air Watch, referring to Dingell's connections with Detroit's automakers.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce said such measures are needed to prevent overlapping jurisdiction. That, along with the extended timetable, makes this draft "the first time that anyone on Capitol Hill has opened the door to realistic discussion of issue" said Bill Kovacs, the chamber's vice president of Environment, Technology and Regulatory Affairs.

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On the Net:

House Energy and Commerce Committee: http://energycommerce.house.gov/

[Associated Press; By DINA CAPPIELLO]

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