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'Cap-and-trade' bill passes House, has tough fight in Senate
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Photo from Citrus-uk.org
A Washington-Post ABC news poll found that three quarters of Americans believe that the government should take more steps to regulate the greenhouse gasses from cars and factories.
However 52% believe that a cap and trade bill should be imposed.
The poll shows opposition to cap-and-trade has grown to 42 percent, from 34 percent from July last of last year. Support for climate legislation has slipped slightly among people asked whether they were willing to pay more for electricity to help reduce greenhouse gases.
The House narrowly passed the bill with a 219-212 vote. Only 8 Republicans voted in favor of it.
At 2:49 A.M on the day the bill was voted on, Congressman Waxman added a 309 page amendment to the already 1,200 page bill giving House members virtually no time to read the additions. Only a couple hours was allowed for debate.
Senator Inhofe of Oklahoma said “It doesn’t matter,” he declared flatly, “because we’ll kill it in the Senate anyway.”
This bill is being called 'the biggest tax increase in history'. Senator Inhofe predicts Democrats will probably get around 34 towards breaking the anticipated Republican filibuster, but will ultimately fall short.
Yahoo! News had this to say about the event:
On the House floor, Democrats hailed the legislation as historic, while Republicans said it would damage the economy without solving the nation's energy woes.
It is "the most important energy and environmental legislation in the history of our country," said Rep. Ed Markey of Massachusetts. "It sets a new course for our country, one that steers us away from foreign oil and towards a path of clean American energy."
But Rep. John Boehner, the House Republican leader, used an extraordinary one-hour speech shortly before the final vote to warn of unintended consequences in what he said was a "defining bill." He called it a "bureaucratic nightmare" that would cost jobs, depress real estate prices and put the government into parts of the economy where it now has no role."
Looking around the internet I have found that people are either adamantly for this, or drastically opposed to it. I figured I would open this topic up to you guys.
What are your thoughts on this issue. Do you think this bill should or should not be passed and why?
