Heartland Institute Experts Comment on Death of Cap-and-Tax Bill in Senate

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) conceded Thursday that the comprehensive Kerry-Lieberman cap-and-tax “climate change” bill is dead — at least for now. “We know where we are,” Reid said. “We know we don’t have the votes.”

Instead, according to The Washington Post, Reid will push for a much more limited bill that would seek to increase the liability costs oil companies would pay following massive spills and provide incentives for more efficient uses of energy. The majority leader left open the possibility of reviving Kerry-Lieberman in a lame-duck session following the November elections.

James M. Taylor, senior fellow for environment policy at The Heartland Institute and managing editor of Environment & Climate News,  Paul Chesser, a special correspondent for The Heartland Institute and director of Climate Strategies Watch, and Jay Lehr, science director of The Heartland Institute offer the following comments. You may quote directly from these statements or contact them for more information.

“The decision to abandon legislation attempting to control the climate is welcome news for sound science, the economy, and common sense. Global warming is not a crisis, although our economy will fall into a long-term crisis if these draconian carbon dioxide restrictions are ever put into place. One can only hope that climate extremists do not try to revive this misguided legislation in a lame-duck session after the November elections.”

James M. Taylor
Senior Fellow for Environment Policy
The Heartland Institute
jtaylor@heartland.org
312/377-4000


“You’d think Democrats would have had their fill of public anger directed at them after they passed Obamacare and Wall Street bailouts. If they resurrect cap-and-tax after the November elections, then it will show they are true gluttons for punishment. They appear to want approval ratings in the single digits.”

Paul Chesser
Special Correspondent
The Heartland Institute
pchesser@heartland.org
312/377-4000

"This is incredibly good news that will be welcomed by all Americans with the common sense to recognize that cap-and-trade, as well as carbon taxation and trading, is all pain and no gain for those not on the winning end of fees for trades and sales or the political benefit of defeating capitalism and limiting human progress."

Jay Lehr
Science Director
The Heartland Institute
jlehr@heartland.org
312-377-4000

The Heartland Institute is a 26-year-old, free-market, national non-profit research and educational organization based in Chicago. For more information, visit our Web sites at www.heartland.org or www.environmentandclimate-news.org.