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Senator Inhofe slams new global warming bill as all 'economic pain for no climate gain'
Environment & Public Works Committee ^ | October 18, 2007 | Senator James Inhofe

Posted on 10/18/2007 3:05:11 PM PDT by EPW Comm Team

October 18, 2007

Contact: Marc Morano 202-224-5762 marc_morano@epw.senate.gov Matt Dempsey 202-224-9797 matthew_dempsey@epw.senate.gov

INHOFE SLAMS NEW CAP-AND-TRADE BILL AS ALL ‘ECONOMIC PAIN FOR NO CLIMATE GAIN'

WASHINGTON, DC - Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), Ranking Member of the Environment and Public Works Committee, commented on the introduction of S. 2191, "America's Climate Security Act" by Senators Joe Lieberman (ID-CT) and John Warner (R-VA), calling the legislation yet another in a series of global warming cap-and-trade bills that would cripple our economy while achieving no real environmental benefits.

"The Lieberman-Warner bill will burden American families with additional energy costs and significantly harm the United States economy," Senator Inhofe said. "Senators are going to be asking the American people to pay more for home energy and pay higher prices at the gas pump for no climate benefit. This bill will simply result in real economic pain, for no climate gain. MIT climate scientist Richard Lindzen correctly summed up these types of efforts in March when he said, ‘Controlling carbon is a bureaucrat's dream. If you control carbon, you control life.'

"I look forward to Environment & Public Works Committee hearings on this legislation. The American people deserve an open and honest debate on the merits of any proposed climate change legislation, especially considering that mandatory carbon cap-and-trade legislation will impose the largest tax increase ever in the U.S. without any measurable climate benefits. To put it bluntly: The American people are being asked to pay significantly more for energy just so lawmakers in Washington can say they did ‘something' about global warming. And just what will cap-and-trade legislation actually do? Cap-and-trade policies have been tried in Europe and they have proven to be an utter disaster. European emissions continue to climb while our current policies have resulted in emissions tailing off in the U.S. If we were going to impose enormous costs to our economy, a carbon tax would be a much more efficient and transparent approach.

"This bill [S. 2191] is patterned after the Lieberman-McCain bill which an MIT study earlier this year found would cost $3500 per family of four. According to an EPA analysis, Lieberman-McCain would impose a price increase for oil of 20% and for natural gas of 23%. This will have enormous impacts, especially on the poor. A 2006 survey of Colorado homeless families with children found that high energy bills were cited as one of the two main reasons they became homeless. (LINK) The Lieberman-Warner is even more stringent than the Lieberman-McCain bill on covered sectors, but fails to provide any more environmental benefits. In addition, the United States Senate has passed two resolutions that any climate action must neither harm our economy nor fail to include developing countries. Lieberman-Warner does not pass that test.

"Why should we send American jobs to China while China builds a new coal plant every three days and will ramp up production even further? Moreover, our plants are more efficient than China's plants, so S.2191 could cause net global emissions to increase, not decrease. All of this cap-and-trade talk comes at a time when the science underpinning man-made global warming fears is being debunked in peer-reviewed studies. In August, a comprehensive survey of peer-reviewed studies from 2004-2007 revealed that climate science continues to shift toward the views of global warming skeptics." (LINK)

Background:

CO2 cap-and-trade schemes were exposed by a recent CBO study as creating massive wealth redistribution from the poor and working class to wealthier Americans. Further, according to a MIT study released earlier this year, cap-and-trade legislation introduced earlier in the Senate this year by Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Senator Boxer (D-CA) would cost energy sector consumers an amount equal to $4,500 per American family of four. The same study found a bill sponsored by Senator Lieberman and Senator McCain (R-AZ) would cost consumers $3,500 per family of four. And a new EPA analysis shows the Lieberman - McCain bill would cost up to half a trillion dollars by 2030 and $1.3 trillion by 2050 - and that was based on assumptions designed to low-ball the number, begging the question of how high the real figure would be. The Kyoto Protocol would have imposed an equivalent tax of $300 billion a year, 10 times the size of the Clinton-Gore tax increase of 1993.

The United States Senate has passed two similar resolutions establishing a standard for passing global warming legislation. In 1997, the Byrd-Hagel Sense of the Senate, which passed 95 - 0, resolved that the U.S. should not be a signatory to any international agreement that would result in serious harm to the U.S. economy or did not mandate reductions from the developing world. Similarly, the Bingaman Sense of the Senate, passed in 2005, resolved that the U.S. should address global warming as long as it will not significantly harm the United States economy and encourages comparable action by other nations that are major trading partners and key contributors to global emissions.

###


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: 110th; globalwarming; inhofe; inhofegw

1 posted on 10/18/2007 3:05:15 PM PDT by EPW Comm Team
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To: EPW Comm Team

Inhofe rules


2 posted on 10/18/2007 3:06:46 PM PDT by G8 Diplomat (Star Wars teaches us a foreboding lesson--evil emperors start out as Senators)
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To: EPW Comm Team; OKSooner; honolulugal; Killing Time; Beowulf; Mr. Peabody; RW_Whacko; gruffwolf; ...

FReepmail me to get on or off


Click on POGW graphic for full GW rundown

New!!: Dr. John Ray's
GREENIE WATCH

Ping me if you find one I've missed.



3 posted on 10/18/2007 3:23:05 PM PDT by xcamel (FDT/2008)
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To: EPW Comm Team
MIT climate scientist Richard Lindzen correctly summed up these types of efforts in March when he said, ‘Controlling carbon is a bureaucrat's dream. If you control carbon, you control life.'

Yeowzer. Talk about nailing it.
4 posted on 10/18/2007 3:27:19 PM PDT by Thoro (Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind.)
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To: EPW Comm Team
Further, according to a MIT study released earlier this year, cap-and-trade legislation introduced earlier in the Senate this year by Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Senator Boxer (D-CA) would cost energy sector consumers an amount equal to $4,500 per American family of four. The same study found a bill sponsored by Senator Lieberman and Senator McCain (R-AZ) would cost consumers $3,500 per family of four. And a new EPA analysis shows the Lieberman - McCain bill would cost up to half a trillion dollars by 2030 and $1.3 trillion by 2050 - and that was based on assumptions designed to low-ball the number, begging the question of how high the real figure would be. The Kyoto Protocol would have imposed an equivalent tax of $300 billion a year, 10 times the size of the Clinton-Gore tax increase of 1993.

Not bad for a politically driven scam promoting a fictitious problem to blame on the country that has done more for humankind than any other sovereign nation via lifestyle and freedom in the history of mankind.

Now we have a strong enemy within to bolster this insane promotion.

5 posted on 10/18/2007 3:32:59 PM PDT by EGPWS (Trust in God, question everyone else)
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To: EPW Comm Team
Basic References:

Lawrence Solomon's "The Deniers" (a series of articles on the view of scientists who have been labelled "Global Warming Deniers"):

Other References:

Antarctic Temperature Trend 1982-2004:


This map (left) shows key areas of Antarctica, including the vast East Antarctic ice sheet. The image on the right shows which areas of the continent's ice are thickening (coloured yellow and red) and thinning (coloured blue). © (Left)British Antarctic Survey, (Right)Science

6 posted on 10/18/2007 3:36:06 PM PDT by sourcery (Referring a "social conservative" to the Ninth Amendment is like showing the Cross to Dracula.)
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To: EPW Comm Team
'economic pain for no climate gain'

Perfect! Who ever came up with this should be in charge of all GOP public statements!

7 posted on 10/18/2007 3:50:21 PM PDT by TheDon (The DemocRAT party is the party of TREASON! Overthrow the terrorist's congress!)
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To: G8 Diplomat

Yes he does! Thank you, Senator Inhofe!!! One of the few left with the courage to say it like it is!!!


8 posted on 10/18/2007 5:47:50 PM PDT by Freedom'sWorthIt
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To: Freedom'sWorthIt

Yep! As I like to say, he’s one of the few left on Capitol Hill with a brain AND a spine!


9 posted on 10/18/2007 5:55:26 PM PDT by G8 Diplomat (Star Wars teaches us a foreboding lesson--evil emperors start out as Senators)
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To: G8 Diplomat

Absolutely! Thank GOD he is there and I hope he is not running home like all the flood of other Repubs who are leaving office. We need him too badly!


10 posted on 10/18/2007 5:59:44 PM PDT by Freedom'sWorthIt
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To: xcamel

I agree with the above poster that “Inhofe Rules!” Thanks for the ping!


11 posted on 10/18/2007 6:23:45 PM PDT by alwaysconservative (The Nobel Peace Prize used to mean something; now it has become a joke.)
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