Mark Schauer votes yes on cap and trade

Cap and Trade to Cost Americans 800,000 Jobs

Oklahoma Sen. Jim Inhofe tells Newsmax that the Obama administration’s plans to curb carbon emissions would immediately cost the U.S. 800,000 jobs and actually lead to a net increase in worldwide emissions.

Sen. Inhofe, the ranking Republican on the Committee on Environment and Public Works, also said an Environmental Protection Agency proposal would raise taxes by $400 billion a year — and charged that Obama is “gutting” the military.

Newsmax.TV’s Ashley Martella pointed to the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed “endangerment finding” — once the EPA makes a finding that greenhouse gases endanger public health and welfare under the Clean Air Act, it could issue regulations covering nearly every facet of the American economy, without Congressional approval. He asked for Sen. Inhofe’s view on the subject.

“About seven years ago I was all alone on this issue,” Inhofe responded.

“That was back when they decided how much it was going to cost us if we had complied with the Kyoto Treaty. The range was between $300 and $330 billion a year as a tax.

“Now you fast forward to the current time. We have defeated every effort on the floor of the Senate for them to have a mandatory cap and trade or a greenhouse gas emissions tax. And now what they’re trying to do, Obama is trying to do in the White House, is what they’ve been unable to do through the legislative process.

“In fact, they only have 39 votes and they need 60 votes in the United States Senate. So they’re talking about an endangerment hearing … and if they’re successful in doing it this would open the door to lawsuits all over America. They could say if I’m cooking on my patio in Tulsa, Oklahoma, it could eventually get to the polar bear and all these silly things.

“So they’re really going to attempt to do this, and we just have to keep telling everyone they can’t do it legislatively so they’re trying to do everything from the White House. We can’t let it happen. This thing would be close to $400 billion a year as a tax increase.”

Martella noted that some Republicans have said cap and trade will add at least $3,000 a year to every American’s energy bill, and asked what would be the result if it is rammed through Congress.

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