Last week, Representative Ed Markey (D–CA) sent a letter to Secretary of Energy Stephen Chu questioning whether exporting natural gas would benefit American businesses and consumers. He wrote, “I am worried that exporting America’s natural gas would raise energy costs for American consumers, reduce the global competitiveness of U.S. businesses, make us more dependent on foreign sources of energy, and slow our transition away from fossil fuels.” Natural gas prices have been consistently low in the United States for the past two years but much higher abroad. If the price …
The true scope of the devastation in Japan caused by Friday’s earthquake and tsunami are still unknown. While the official death toll has surpassed 1,000, the police chief of the Miyagi Prefecture said Sunday there is “no question” that at least 10,000 people have died in just his region alone. Japan has mobilized 100,000 troops for rescue missions, and at least three U.S. Navy ships of the USS Ronald Reagan strike group are assisting in relief efforts. Yet, despite the gravity of the situation, some on the left in this …
Yesterday, Senators John Kerry (D-MA), Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) unveiled an outline of their cap-and-trade proposal. Interestingly, their version of a national tax on American energy is hard to distinguish from earlier proposals such as the House-passed Waxman-Markey or the Senate committee-passed Boxer-Kerry. All of these proposals have one thing in common: they hurt the economy. However, the Senators Kerry, Lieberman and Graham take great care in their 5-page document to detail the benefits of their proposal, and implicitly suggest why it is superior to each. Let’s …
The Hill reports today: Energy panel Republicans are levying accusations of witness intimidation against Democratic Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), one of the key authors of the contentious House climate change bill. Republicans have seized on a letter – a copy of which was obtained by The Hill – that Markey penned to Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman Jon Wellinghoff asking FERC to investigate the actions of a major energy company on the same day that the company’s CEO was set to testify before the energy panel on the dangers of …
Policymakers in Washington want to dramatically change America’s energy policy by regulating carbon dioxide emissions. Their most popular idea, included in the Waxman-Markey 2009 energy bill, is a cap and trade proposal. Many Americans find the debate in Washington over adopting a cap-and-trade program to reduce carbon dioxide a bit confusing. It works like this: Policymakers set a cap on the amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that can be omitted into the atmosphere. Each power plant, factory, refinery, and other regulated entity will be allocated allowances (rights …
This week, beginning today, Waxman and Markey are holding Congressional hearings to discuss the draft of a massive energy bill that includes clean energy investment, energy efficiency mandates, a cap-and-trade program, and protectionist policies that will supposedly help the consumer cope with higher energy prices. The logic behind the hearing process is to gather experts to help inform legislators about the impact of their efforts. This is a worthwhile and laudable goal, to be sure, but the reality is often very different. Unfortunately, the hearing process is often hijacked by …
The National Basketball Association’s San Antonio Spurs are known for winning NBA championships in odd years, winning in 1999, 2005, 2005 and 2007. Bad energy bills are beginning to follow the same trend as Congress passed energy bills in 2005 and 2007 that focused on subsidies and mandates as opposed to a market-driven approach. 2009 is shaping up to be no better; in fact, the draft of new energy legislation suggests it will be much, much worse. Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) of the Energy and Commerce Committee and Chairman Edward …
The left is getting absolutely destroyed in the debate on the Senate floor over global warming. Roll Call reports that Democratic staffers are complaining that leadership “is walking us off a cliff” on the issue. Far left activists report they are hearing similar things from their allies in Congress. The left is quickly discovering that Americans are not eager to pay higher gas and energy prices in exchange for completely symbolic action on global warming. Conservatives in the House have been paying attention to the debate as well and they …
Editorializing in favor of the Lieberman-Warner cap-and-trade bill set to be debated in the Senate next week, the New York Times urges liberals to “make sure that the economics of this debate are framed in a positive way.” The newspaper need not worry: liberal activist groups and politicians have been trying to spin the largest tax increase in the history of mankind as boon for the economy for some time now. Sen. Hillary Clinton says her cap-and-trade plan would create 5 million new jobs. Sen. Barack Obama promises to use …
