[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 66 (Thursday, April 21, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E396]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   INTRODUCTION OF THE SECURING PROTECTIONS AGAINST CARBON EMISSIONS 
                            (SPACE) TAX ACT

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                          HON. EARL BLUMENAUER

                               of oregon

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 21, 2022

  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Madam Speaker, today I introduced the Securing 
Protections Against Carbon Emissions (SPACE) Tax Act so that the 
federal government taxes commercial space travel like it taxes 
commercial aviation.
  For months, the American public has witnessed billionaires and 
celebrities with enough money to vaccinate entire countries, end 
homelessness, cure diseases, or feed a nation launch themselves into 
space to gain notoriety and create a new space tourism industry. These 
launches are yet another example of the disturbing trend in rising 
wealth inequality in the United States.
  As this nascent industry takes shape, Americans cannot overlook the 
environmental impact of sending humans into space, particularly when 
there is no scientific value associated with the launch. While 
proponents of suborbital space flights point to transatlantic flights 
as having similar carbon footprints, these flights carry significantly 
more passengers and travel much farther. The result is space launches 
that account for an estimated 60-times greater emissions than 
transatlantic flights on a per-passenger basis. That is enough to drive 
a car around the earth and more than twice the carbon budget 
recommended in the Paris climate accord.
  The SPACE Tax Act addresses these environmental and fairness concerns 
by establishing a new excise tax regime on commercial space flights 
that is structured like the excise taxes we all pay for commercial 
aviation.
  The legislation would establish a 10 percent per-passenger tax on the 
price of a commercial flight to space. It also includes a two-tiered 
excise tax for each commercial launch carrying humans into space that 
is based on distance above the Earth's surface.
  The SPACE Tax Act makes our tax code fairer, ends the tax holiday on 
space travel, and is part of the policy prescription to ensure that 
billionaires are paying their fair share.

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