[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 1]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 1133]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  INTRODUCING THE SAVE OUR CLIMATE ACT

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                        HON. FORTNEY PETE STARK

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, January 15, 2009

  Mr. STARK. Madam Speaker, I rise today with my colleague Jim 
McDermott to reintroduce the Save Our Climate Act, a bill to place a 
tax on carbon. A carbon tax is the most straightforward and efficient 
way to end our addiction to fossil fuels and confront global climate 
change.
  While I have introduced this proposal in years past, I am more 
confident than ever that the time for action has arrived. We have a 
President-elect who consistently acknowledges that our planet is in 
peril. The upcoming economic recovery package will focus on creating 
``green jobs'' and investing in clean energy.
  The best solution is to place a tax on what we want to reduce--
pollution; and to put that revenue into what we want to increase--work, 
income, and investment in new technology. A carbon tax is the best way 
to do that.
  Under the Save Our Climate Act, carbon based fuels--coal, petroleum 
and natural gas--are taxed at a rate of $10 per ton of carbon content. 
The tax will increase by $10 per ton of carbon every year, making it 
less affordable to burn fossil fuels as time goes on. When the United 
States reaches the International Panel on Climate Change's standard of 
reducing CO2 emissions by 80 percent, the tax will be 
frozen.
  A tax provides certainty for businesses, as they will know what the 
level of tax will be from year to year and can make adjustments in 
their business plans. This legislation is also simple to administer and 
will require no new bureaucracy to implement. For these reasons, the 
Congressional Budget Office, CBO, concluded last year that a carbon tax 
is the most economically efficient policy for reducing carbon dioxide 
emissions.
  This bill does not prescribe how the revenue will be spent, but it is 
appropriate that we consider relief for low- and middle-income 
consumers who may face modestly higher energy costs, and investments in 
alternative energy sources, health care, and education.
  The Save Our Climate Act will generate a small energy price increase 
each year, equal to about 2 cents per gallon of gas annually. Consumers 
over the past year have endured increases 100 times that. The only 
difference is that the increase in price went to overseas coffers, not 
to build our transportation networks, provide relief for workers, and 
health care for our citizens. As the tax rate increases, fossil fuel 
prices will increase. Producers will have an incentive to invest in 
cleaner alternative energies, and those alternative energy sources will 
become more competitive.
  For businesses, the carbon tax is direct, creates price certainty, 
and signals that it is time to take bold action and invest in business 
models that utilize low pollution technology. Even the CEO of Exxon 
commented last week calling a carbon tax a ``direct and transparent 
approach.'' I don't normally find myself on the same side as the oil 
companies, but in this case, I agree. The Save Our Climate Act is a 
first step toward a sensible tax code that incentivizes innovation and 
rewards responsibility. I encourage all to support it.

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