[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 37 (Wednesday, March 29, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E446]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       KEEP AMERICA COMPETITIVE GLOBAL WARMING POLICY ACT OF 2006

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. TOM UDALL

                             of new mexico

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 29, 2006

  Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce the 
Keep America Competitive global Warming Policy Act of 2006. I am 
pleased to be joined in introducing this bill by my colleague from 
Wisconsin, the Honorable Tom Petri.
  We introduce this legislation in the face of a rapidly strengthening 
scientific consensus that the Earth is warming faster over the last few 
decades than at any time ever in the geologic record. Ten of the last 
15 years have been the hottest years since we began recording global 
temperatures. There are prolonged droughts across the United States, 
such as in my home state of New Mexico. Other parts of the country have 
seen record precipitation and floods. In Representative Petri's home 
state of Wisconsin, average winter temperatures are increasing, leading 
to thinner ice and earlier melts on as much as 80% of the state's 
lakes. Dramatic melting has been seen in icecaps, glaciers, and sea ice 
on both poles and high mountain regions around the world. And, as we 
all know, the North Atlantic saw a record number of deadly hurricanes 
in 2005. The increase in the frequency of severe storms has been 
directly linked to an increase in sea surface temperatures. It is also 
very worrisome that sea surface temperatures are already above normal 
this year.
  Scientists are in almost unanimous agreement that most of the global 
warming and the resultant extreme weather events are directly related 
to the build-up in the atmosphere of carbon dioxide released from the 
burning of fossil fuels. To date, the United States has done nothing to 
address the most serious environmental issue any of us will ever 
encounter. We must begin, and we must begin now. However, any emissions 
reduction policy we enact must minimize economic harm and dislocation.

  That is why we are introducing this legislation today. Our bill will 
help America curb our emissions but is designed to avoid an 
economically devastating price run-up that will cause harm and 
dislocation to American businesses and workers. The Keep America 
Competitive Global Warming Policy Act will spur innovation and keep 
America in the technological lead. In addition, by engaging the 
developing world in efforts to combat global warming, our bill makes 
certain that the United States will not be placed at a competitive 
disadvantage to other countries. Our bill also acknowledges that 
technology is the long-term solution to global warming. Thus, an 
integral part of our legislation will devote substantial resources 
exclusively to the research and development of low and no-carbon 
technologies.
  The bill is an economy-wide, upstream, cap-and-trade policy that 
covers all greenhouse gas emissions. However, to ensure that the cost 
is both modest and certain, the bill provides for an unlimited number 
of additional ``safety valve'' allowances. These allowances will be 
sold by the Treasury Department at a fixed and reasonable price, which 
will escalate over time. Also, to bring about the participation of 
developing countries on addressing global warming, we tie the safety 
valve escalator to the emissions-control activities of the five largest 
developing country greenhouse gas emitters. This ensures that America 
will not be put at a competitive disadvantage if the developing 
countries do not join the effort.
  We know that there may be less emissions reduction with a safety 
valve than without one. However, the cost certainty and the modest 
starting cost of the safety valve allowances provide assurance that 
there will not be economic harm from the adoption of this global 
warming policy. We believe it is better to have a policy that works 
slowly yet surely rather than one that might prove unworkable. Many 
companies have expressed the need for a safety valve in any mandatory 
greenhouse emissions control legislation, including the largest utility 
in my home state of New Mexico. Every day here in Congress, we debate 
the trade-offs between cost and effectiveness. We expect that the 
debate on how to best address carbon emissions and global warming will 
continue for some time. But the most important thing is that the House 
of Representatives actually begin that debate.
  Taking into account the potential for some economic harm as the 
economy adjusts to this policy, our legislation allocates allowances to 
those people, entities, and localities that may incur dislocations 
because of this legislation. Additional allowances will be used to 
ensure that the legislation is revenue-neutral.
  Our legislation also builds upon the 2005 recommendation of the 
National Academy of Sciences in its ``Rising Above the Gathering 
Storm'' report recommending the creation of an organization within the 
Department of Energy modeled on the Defense Department's Advanced 
Research Projects Agency, also known as DARPA. The goal of this E-ARPA 
is to explore the truly out-of-the-box, high-risk, high-payoff research 
that will be necessary if we are to get to a low or no-carbon dioxide 
and greenhouse gas world.
  Mr. Speaker, this bill is modest, certain, and efficient. It begins 
the process of committing America to reducing its greenhouse gas 
emissions and addressing the global warming issue by having emitters 
internalize the costs of the problems associated with global warming. 
This monumental step of putting a price on carbon and other greenhouse 
gases will stabilize greenhouse gas emissions and eventually reduce 
them, finally putting the United States on the road toward curbing the 
effects of global warming.
  I urge my colleagues in the House to cosponsor this comprehensive and 
economically rational legislation and help break the stalemate that 
exists on the global warming issue.

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