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America's Climate Security Act of 2007 (S. 2191), sponsored by Senators Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) and John Warner (R-VA), is the latest and fastest-moving "cap and trade" bill introduced in Congress this year. All such climate change measures warrant careful scrutiny, as they would likely increase energy costs and do considerably more economic harm than environmental good. A Costly Proposition These measures would set a limit, or cap, on carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel use. The effect of such a cap would be to impose rationing of coal, oil, and natural gas on the American economy. Each covered utility, oil...

Some facts on climate legislationPublished on Sunday, Jun 01, 2008 Here are questions about the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act that the Senate is to begin debating this week: Q: What is it? A: The bill by Sens. Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., and John Warner, R-Va., would create a ''cap-and-trade'' program designed to reduce environmentally harmful carbon dioxide emissions by power companies, big manufacturers, refineries and other businesses. Q: How would it work? A: Affected companies would be forced to meet new limits — the ''cap'' part — on their emissions. They would have to reduce emissions by about 2 percent each...

The current plan for dealing with global warming would trigger a lobbying frenzy to win new subsidies and preferential treatment. Robert J. Samuelson NEWSWEEK Updated: 12:42 PM ET May 31, 2008 We'll have to discard the adage "everyone talks about the weather, but no one does anything about it." In this era of global warming, it is inoperative, because the whole point of controlling greenhouse-gas emissions is to do something about the weather. This promises to be hard and perhaps futile, but there are good and bad ways of attempting it. One of the bad ways is "cap and trade." Unfortunately,...

Republican nominee for president John McCain recently returned from a whirlwind tour of Europe meant to promote his global statesmanship. In Europe, he met with leaders such as French President Nicolas Sarkozy and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and even published opinion pieces in major French and English newspapers that outlined his global vision. Central to that vision is global warming. In his contribution to the French paper Le Monde, McCain gave the fight against climate change equal billing with the war on terror. He warned that Americans and Europeans "will hand over a much-diminished world to our grandchildren"...

WASHINGTON - An unprecedentedly radical government grab for control of the American economy will be debated this week when the Senate considers saving the planet by means of a cap-and-trade system to ration carbon emissions. The plan is co-authored (with John Warner) by Joe Lieberman, an ardent supporter of John McCain, who supports Lieberman's legislation and recently spoke about "the central facts of rising temperatures, rising waters and all the endless troubles that global warming will bring." Speaking of endless troubles, "cap-and-trade" comes cloaked in reassuring rhetoric about the government merely creating a market, but government actually would create a...

If there indeed is a second Great Depression to come, this will be the government measure that guarantees it arrives with a devastating gut punch. The U.S. Senate returns to session this week and will take up something deceptively labeled "America's Climate Security Act of 2008." It's a bill designed to combat man-made global warming. But anybody with a brain should be able to understand that the only thing this bill would "secure" would be our national demise. Not only is it one of those sadly classic bureaucratic "solutions" in search of a problem, it is a sad exercise...

May 28, 2008 Posted By Marc Morano – 3:33 PM EST – Marc_Morano@EPW.Senate.Gov New York Times Makes Factual Blunder Paper erroneously claims Senate last voted on global warming bill in 2003 A New York Times editorial today arguing in favor of the Senate’s upcoming mandatory global warming cap-and-trade legislation committed a blatant factual error. The May 28 Times editorial incorrectly claimed, “The Senate last addressed climate change in 2003 when it cast 43 votes in favor of a bill sponsored by Mr. McCain and Mr. Lieberman.” (LINK) In their apparently hasty Google search of Senate history, the editors at the...

An influential coalition of Fortune 500 companies and environmental groups that was formed to support climate-change legislation has splintered over the Lieberman-Warner bill that is headed next week to the Senate floor. The U.S. Climate Action Partnership formed last year won't take a position on the bill, although nine of its members - including General Electric (GE, Fortune 500), Alcoa (AA, Fortune 500) and four utility companies - signed a letter to senators backing the legislation. The letter, also signed by big environmental groups and obtained by Fortune, says: "Prompt action on climate change is essential to protect America's economy,...

On June 2, the United States Senate will begin debate on America's Climate Security Act (S. 2191), sponsored by Senators Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) and John Warner (R-VA). The Lieberman-Warner bill (LW) would restrict energy use to combat global warming. Like global warming itself, the bill has been the subject of considerable hype and little hard-nosed analysis. For this reason, there are several myths about it that need to be dispelled.Myth #1: LW would not be expensive.Fact: Simply put, LW works like a massive energy tax. By restricting carbon dioxide emissions from coal, oil, and natural gas--with a freeze at...

Climate Bill Underlines Obstacles to Capping Greenhouse GasesBy Juliet Eilperin and Steven Mufson Washington Post Staff Writers Sunday, June 1, 2008; Page A12 When the Senate takes up landmark climate legislation this week, its backers can be sure of just one thing: The obstacles they face show how hard it will be to enact a meaningful cap on greenhouse gases -- probably under the next administration. The next administration, not this one, because even supporters of the complex, extensively negotiated 494-page bill say that there is little chance that it will win Senate approval, less chance that the House will...

Presidential Candidates May Miss Climate Vote Sen. John McCain walked through the wilderness that surrounds Chester Morse Lake with state and local officials North Bend, Wash., May 13, 2008, to call attention to his climate change agenda. (Associated Press)Updated 6:48 p.m.By Juliet EilperinLOS ANGELES -- While the three remaining presidential candidates have touted climate change as a central theme in their campaigns, all of them may miss next week's critical vote when the Senate considers a landmark bill imposing mandatory limits on greenhouse gases. With the debate set to begin Monday, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) will miss the entire...

Introduction and summaryThe United States Senate will soon begin debate on America's Climate Security Act of 2007, popularly referred to as the Lieberman-Warner bill after its chief sponsors, Senators Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) and John Warner (R-VA).The legislation ostensibly is intended to cut U.S. industrial emissions of greenhouse gases in an effort to reduce the risk of catastrophic global warming.  Senator Lieberman has estimated the bill would reduce overall U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by up to 63% by 2050.1  The policies the legislation would impose, however, have little hope of meeting this target and would likely have little impact on...

The Economics of America’s Climate Security Act of 2007S.2191, Lieberman-Warner Climate Bill White Paper   Senator James M. InhofeRanking MemberUnited States Senate Committee onEnvironment and Public WorksMay 2008 National EconomyFamiliesPoorest Bear the Biggest Costs of Lieberman-WarnerIntroductionThe issue of climate change is now at the forefront of American environmental policy.  While the science behind the causes of recent warming trends has been argued vigorously in the past, the debate over the economic costs of addressing this issue has been relatively quiet until now.  However, on this issue there is little to debate at all. Leaders from both sides of the...

Robert B. Bluey is director of the Center for Media & Public Policy at The Heritage Foundation and maintains a blog at RobertBluey.com Exactly one year after angering conservatives with an amnesty bill for illegal aliens, Sen. John McCain managed to fire up the right again last week—only this time he’s proposing a massive plan to combat global warming that would have severe consequences for the U.S. economy. During a West Coast trip to Oregon and Washington state, McCain outlined his global warming strategy, which in many ways resembles legislation offered by Senators Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and John Warner (R-Va.)....

March 12, 2008 Posted by Marc Morano – 4:43 PM ET – Marc_Morano@EPW.Senate.Gov Boxer Waves White Flag on Lieberman-Warner Climate Bill Washington DC - Environment and Public Works Committee Chair Barbara Boxer conceded today that the Lieberman-Warner global warming cap-and-trade bill would be pulled if “weakening amendments” are added during the scheduled June 2008 floor debate. Boxer’s pledge today appeared to signal the 2008 exit strategy for pulling the Lieberman-Warner bill (America's Climate Security Act - S2191.) Greenwire reporter Darren Samuelsohn described Boxer as “pledging to punt the issue into 2009 if any amendments get added that weaken the legislation.”...

Thursday, November 1, 2007 Posted By Marc Morano - Marc_Morano@epw.senate.gov - 5:47 PM ET Weblink to Blog: Climate Bill Will Cost ?Hundreds of Billions of Dollars' - Lieberman Concedes The Lieberman-Warner global warming cap-and-trade bill (S2191) would cost "hundreds of billions of dollars" to the electrical and industrial sectors of the economy, Senator Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) conceded today. Senator Lieberman made the remarks during today's Environment & Public Works (EPW) subcommittee markup on the bill. "It's hard to imagine that [Lieberman-Warner] will not cost - over time -- these two sectors (electric power and industrial), hundreds of billions of dollars...