WASHINGTON: Democratic lawmakers on Tuesday proposed charging the biggest industrial polluters for each ton of carbon dioxide they emit, seeking to keep the climate debate alive even as Congress is focused on budget battles.
Representatives Henry Waxman of California and Earl Blumenauer of Oregon, with senators Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island and Brian Schatz of Hawaii, released a carbon price discussion draft that aims to force all polluters who report their greenhouse gas output to federal regulators to pay a per-ton fee.
Waxman, who previously authored a 2009 bill to establish a carbon emissions trading system, said a carbon tax could help reduce the federal budget deficit by returning revenues to consumers while reducing heat-trapping gases.
The proposal is the latest to be offered at a time when a carbon tax is unlikely to find enough congressional support to move ahead, despite President Barack Obama calling for action on emissions in his State of the Union address.
A spokesman for Blumenauer said the lawmakers want the energy industry and other groups to "weigh in" and offer feedback on how they would want greenhouse gas regulations to be designed.
The proposal suggests three different price levels - $15, $25 and $30 per ton of carbon that would rise on an annual basis.
It would assign the Internal Revenue Service to collect the taxes and enforce their collection, and the Environmental Protection Agency to guide emitters in estimating and monitoring their emissions.
"Utilities, oil companies, and other major sources are already reporting their emissions to EPA. We build off of this existing program," Waxman said.
Waxman and Whitehouse, two of the most vocal advocates for climate legislation in Congress, launched a congressional task force in January to push the president to use his existing authorities to regulate emissions and to serve as a laboratory for new legislation.
Last month, Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer of California and independent Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont introduced a carbon tax bill, which they said could generate $1.2 trillion in revenues that would be returned to consumers.
Congressional Republicans remain strongly opposed to carbon tax measures.
On Wednesday, the Republican Study Committee will hold a press conference on Wednesday to discuss the "harmful impacts of a carbon tax on American families and small businesses," according to a press statement.
The committee, chaired by Representative Steve Scalise, will introduce a resolution opposing efforts to implement a national carbon tax.
The main US manufacturing lobby group, the National Association of Manufacturers, released a report last month on the negative impacts of a national carbon tax so it "never sees the light of day."
<Center><b><i>Copyright Reuters, 2013</b></i><br></center>
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