Washington (CNSNews.com) – Vice President Joe Biden expressed confidence that the Senate would approve energy legislation, including cap and trade -- which many critics view as an energy tax -- even though Congress-watchers think the chances of such legislation passing this year are slim.
“There is clear consensus out there that something has to be done,” Biden told reporters on Thursday. “All the folks on the [Capitol] Hill know we have got to do something about carbon emissions in the air and the amount of oil we consume from abroad.”
"I think we're going to get an energy bill," said Biden. "I think we're going to get an energy bill that's real."
The vice president’s prediction comes two days after President Barack Obama called for a cap- and-trade bill that would require certain businesses to essentially pay for permission to emit carbon. Obama’s call came during his address to the nation on Tuesday about the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
It also came as The Washington Post reported that Democrats are considering trying to pass a cap-and-trade bill during the lame duck session of Congress, after the November 2010 elections, anticipating an unpopular vote.
Biden’s own experience in the Senate, however, has shown him that the Senate is tough to predict.
Although he expressed his confidence concerning the measure, Biden said, “Beyond that, I would not put odds on it, it’s just very hard to do.”
The House of Representatives passed a cap-and-trade bill last year but the proposal unveiled by Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) in May has been lingering in the Senate.
Americans for Tax Reform, a taxpayer-advocacy group that opposes the legislation, said that gasoline prices would go up by $1.38 per gallon if a cap-and-trade bill passes and that natural gas prices would increase by 58 percent, and electricity prices would go up by 90 percent.
Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) said the Kerry-Lieberman bill would kill jobs and added that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has yet to explain the impact of cap and trade.
“There is clear consensus out there that something has to be done,” Biden told reporters on Thursday. “All the folks on the [Capitol] Hill know we have got to do something about carbon emissions in the air and the amount of oil we consume from abroad.”
"I think we're going to get an energy bill," said Biden. "I think we're going to get an energy bill that's real."
The vice president’s prediction comes two days after President Barack Obama called for a cap- and-trade bill that would require certain businesses to essentially pay for permission to emit carbon. Obama’s call came during his address to the nation on Tuesday about the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
It also came as The Washington Post reported that Democrats are considering trying to pass a cap-and-trade bill during the lame duck session of Congress, after the November 2010 elections, anticipating an unpopular vote.
Biden’s own experience in the Senate, however, has shown him that the Senate is tough to predict.
Although he expressed his confidence concerning the measure, Biden said, “Beyond that, I would not put odds on it, it’s just very hard to do.”
The House of Representatives passed a cap-and-trade bill last year but the proposal unveiled by Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) in May has been lingering in the Senate.
Americans for Tax Reform, a taxpayer-advocacy group that opposes the legislation, said that gasoline prices would go up by $1.38 per gallon if a cap-and-trade bill passes and that natural gas prices would increase by 58 percent, and electricity prices would go up by 90 percent.
Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) said the Kerry-Lieberman bill would kill jobs and added that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has yet to explain the impact of cap and trade.
Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, held a hearing on Earth Day and Todd Stern, special envoy for climate change, testified. (CNSNews.com/Penny Starr)
"Rather than release a full and transparent analysis of the facts, EPA has avoided discussion of Kerry-Lieberman's job-killing effects, casting serious doubt on the agency's objectivity,” Inhofe said in a statement. “Hiding the truth won't bring consolation to anxious factory workers in Ohio, farmers in Missouri, or miners in Virginia, whose jobs and livelihoods are on the line.”
Meanwhile, Senator Kerry said Obama’s call for energy legislation during his first Oval Office address represented a “historic leadership moment.”
“There can be no doubt that the president is rolling up his sleeves to ensure we establish a market mechanism to tackle carbon pollution, create hundreds of thousands of new jobs each year, strengthen energy independence and improve the quality of the air we breathe,” Kerry said in a statement.
“We will continue working with colleagues from both sides of the aisle to pass comprehensive reform this summer," said Kerry. "This isn't a time for band-aids. It is time to be for something, instead of standing by and doing nothing as our energy habits cost us money and increase our dependence on countries that don't like us.”
Meanwhile, Senator Kerry said Obama’s call for energy legislation during his first Oval Office address represented a “historic leadership moment.”
“There can be no doubt that the president is rolling up his sleeves to ensure we establish a market mechanism to tackle carbon pollution, create hundreds of thousands of new jobs each year, strengthen energy independence and improve the quality of the air we breathe,” Kerry said in a statement.
“We will continue working with colleagues from both sides of the aisle to pass comprehensive reform this summer," said Kerry. "This isn't a time for band-aids. It is time to be for something, instead of standing by and doing nothing as our energy habits cost us money and increase our dependence on countries that don't like us.”
