Congress: Cap-n-trade passes committee (Dems assured Big Business bill will not hurt them)

[Robbien]

Source: Politico

“A bill to create the first national limit on greenhouse-gas emissions was approved by a House committee yesterday after a week of late-night debates that cemented the shift of climate change from rhetorical jousting to a subject of serious, if messy, Washington policymaking,” the Washington Post reports. “The 33 to 25 vote was a major victory for House Democrats, who had softened and jury-rigged the bill to reassure manufacturers and utilities -- and members of their own party from the South and Midwest -- that they would not suffer greatly.”

More: “President Obama supports the bill, an aide said yesterday, though some provisions are weaker than what he advocated during the presidential campaign. In particular, Obama called for all pollution credits to be auctioned off by the government, but the House bill would give away about 85 percent of them. After that shift and a weakening of the bill's demands for new renewable electricity, the environmental group Greenpeace withdrew its support. But many environmental activists have accepted the changes.”

Read more: http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2009/05/22/19407...

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Giving big business power over pollution credits is just begging for trouble

[pjt7]

1. I'm starting to believe the cap & trade is another energy

scam, benefiting big business.

Is this really what Al Gore & the "green" D's are about?

[Old Coot]

2. I am concerned that this will cause my electricity rates to sky-rocket.

My utility produces 100% of its power with coal.

I believe something must be done about carbon emissions but hope this plan doesn't bankrupt me.

[w4rma]

3. It won't bankrupt you, but it might clean up the air in your area and possibly extend

your life and/or some of your friends'/neighbors' lives.

[Robbien]

4. Those are the exact words right wingers are being told to spread around

Scare people. Spread the fear.

Taking care of the environment is evil. Coal is good.

If one doesn't use coal it is going to hit people in the pocketbook.