Democrats in the US House passed, by a 219-212 razor margin, Obama’s climate and energy legislation Friday evening. Now this bill moves to the Senate. Next to Obama this legislation is a big win for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA).
The complex bill mandates a 17-percent cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 and a 83-percent cut by 2050, reductions that will be accomplished by putting a price on carbon dioxide through a cap-and-trade system. It mandates that 20 percent of electricity comes from renewable sources and increased energy efficiency by 2020.
Many fear the legislation could raise energy costs and hurt the US coal industry. It will certainly be interesting to watch your electricity, heating oil, and gasoline bills closely over the next two years. While some electric utilities, auto manufacturers, and Fortune 500 companies supported the bill, large business associations like the Chamber of Commerce argued that it would impose a crippling regulatory burden on the economy that would push factories and jobs abroad.
Democrats touted the legislation as a measure that would improve national security, create jobs, protect the environment and reestablish the United States as a world leader. Republicans slammed the bill as an economic catastrophe.
My question comes from the fact that the bill is more than 1,200 pages long. Can anyone in the House show me where they read and studied 50% of this legislation? 25%? 5%?
Nope, this was far more politics and very little exercising the will of the voters.
Democrat, Obama, climate and energy legislation, Pelosi, greenhouse gas, cap-and-trade, energy cost
1 response so far ↓
1 G-MAN2584 // Jun 29, 2009 at 3:17 pm
How long will “we the people” put up with this kind of nonsense. They didn’t read the so-called “stimulus” bill either. Stop and think a minute…is this representative government?