Columbia, Tenn. -- U.S. Rep. Lincoln Davis, D-Tenn., said today when people ask him about climate change, he has a one-word answer.
"I say, 'Huh?'" Davis said.
Davis knows about climate change. His point is not to debate the pros and cons of whether global warming exists but to say it would be far more effective just to focus on reforms in energy policy. And that means finding alternative fuels and renewables, he says.
"Here's why I don't engage in climate change," Davis said. "Whether you believe in climate change or don't, it's generally a political position."
The 4th District congressman from Pall Mall, Tenn., said he watched gas go to $4 per gallon for neighbors driving 15,000 miles a year and saw the financial impact it had. He said he saw the price go from $1.45 per gallon in 2001 to $3.25 in 2008.
"My neighbor doesn't have to agree or disagree with climate change. He just knows it's money that's not going to pay the mortgage or take care of the other needs of his family," Davis said. "So you can go talk to the far left or far right, but I don't talk about climate change."
Davis was speaking to a crowd at the Tennessee Farm Bureau headquarters in a forum with Rep. Collin Peterson, D-Minn., chairman of the House Agriculture Committee. Davis is a member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture and Rural Development. The two appeared at a similar session Wednesday in Crossville, Tenn.
The cap-and-trade issue in Congress is concerning to the agriculture industry, which is wrestling with the troubled economy as it is. Farmers are watching the issue because they worry they may be put at an economic disadvantage compared to other countries. Cap-and trade was the first issue raised in audience questions at today's Columbia forum.
Proponents for cap-and trade see it as an effective mechanism to control greenhouse gases to control global warming. Opponents see it as either as a matter of faulty science on global warming or nothing more than an energy tax.
The House passed a cap-and-trade bill in June 219-212, when 218 votes were needed to pass. Davis voted against the bill. Peterson voted for it, explaining today that he submitted a list of demands for agriculture in the bill and that Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., a leader of the bill, agreed to them.
"He gave me every single thing I asked for," Peterson said. "I was stuck. I had to vote for it. I guess I didn't ask for enough. I should have asked for $100 million for Minnesota for Medicaid or something."
That reference was to Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., getting controversial concessions on the health-care bill that passed in the Senate on Christmas Eve.
Peterson said he thinks the brakes are going to be put on cap-and-trade in the Senate. He also said it's difficult for him to see how cap-and-trade will work.
"You can't just have the U.S. and Europe be the ones that do this and the rest of the world gets off the hook," Peterson said. "It seems what this is really about is taking a bunch of money from us and giving it to poor countries. If that's what we're going to do, then why go through all of this? If we're going to give them money why don't we just give it to them straight up, which I'm not in favor of. Why not just put a tax on carbon and make it expensive?"
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