[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 186 (Friday, December 11, 2009)]
[House]
[Pages H14809-H14810]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    CAP-AND-TRADE IS BAD FOR AMERICA

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Moran) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. MORAN of Kansas. Mr. Speaker, one in 10 Americans are without 
jobs this holiday season. This level of unemployment is the highest our 
country has seen in a quarter-century. In the midst of these difficult 
times, jobs are at the top of America's holiday wish list, yet the 
President has sent negotiators to Copenhagen to devise and deliver 
another job killer.
  Negotiators from nations around the world convened in the Danish 
capital this week with the goal of developing a successor to the failed 
Kyoto Protocol, which sought to reduce worldwide greenhouse gas 
emissions. When Kyoto was negotiated, the Senate unanimously approved 
the Byrd-Hagel resolution. This important resolution established U.S. 
policy that our country would not enter into any climate treaty that 
leaves out developing nations or hurts the American economy. In passing 
the resolution, the Senate recognized the damage such an agreement 
would do to the U.S. economy.

[[Page H14810]]

  The President and his negotiators would be wise to abide by these 
guidelines today, as any agreement reached in Copenhagen would likely 
be more devastating to the American economy than Kyoto. But it's not 
just Copenhagen that Americans have to worry about, the President wants 
to pursue an environmental agenda in any way he can, including through 
cap-and-trade. In my view, cap-and-trade, approved by the House of 
Representatives in June, remains one of the most damaging pieces of 
legislation ever passed by the House of Representatives during my time 
in Congress, especially as it affects agriculture and rural America.

                              {time}  1515

  The passage of a cap-and-trade bill will increase the cost of doing 
business in the United States, will force business owners to close 
their doors, and will cause companies to leave the country for 
locations where costs are lower.
  The respected Heritage Foundation studied the Waxman-Markey cap-and-
trade bill. The study showed that the legislation would result in 
annual losses to GDP of almost $400 billion and that it would lead to 
the loss of 1 million jobs.
  At a House Agriculture Subcommittee on Conservation, Credit, Energy, 
and Research hearing last week, USDA's chief economist and other 
experts from universities across the Nation all testified that the 
costs for fuel, fertilizer and other business inputs would increase 
under cap-and-trade, meaning more harm to business and the people they 
employ.
  For example, one witness cited an Energy Information Administration 
analysis that showed, in 2030, the Waxman-Markey bill would raise 
diesel fuel costs by 15 percent, electricity costs by 22 percent and 
industrial natural gas costs by 26 percent. The last thing we need is 
another law or treaty that dashes the hope for economic recovery and 
that destroys more jobs, but the President continues to push for just 
that.
  On Monday, the EPA ruled that carbon dioxide and five other 
greenhouse gases are a danger to public health and to the environment. 
This decision means EPA can impose greenhouse gas regulations without 
Congressional action. This threat is no reason to pass cap-and-trade. 
We must defeat cap-and-trade in the Senate and then put an end to the 
faulty interpretation of the Clean Air Act by the EPA.
  The President should refrain from entering into international 
agreements, and the EPA must be stopped from making decisions that are 
not supported by science or current law. At a time when so many 
Americans are without work, the President needs to focus on ways to 
create jobs and to improve the economy.
  A cap-and-trade bill, EPA regulations, or an international treaty, 
all of which are on the President's holiday wish list, would be 
devastating to the U.S. economy. That's a holiday gift that no American 
can afford. The passage of cap-and-trade, an agreement in Copenhagen, 
clean air findings by the EPA--we can just as soon leave those presents 
under the Christmas tree unopened.
  President Obama and Speaker Pelosi, don't be the grinch that steals 
our Christmas. And I hope that is not ``just the way it is.''

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