Earth Equity News

Waxman Charges to the Lead with Cap-and-Trade. By Patrick O'Conner, Politico, March 9, 2009. "On Capitol Hill, whole careers can be defined by the names on a bill. McCain-Feingold, Gramm-Rudman, Sarbanes-Oxley. The race is on to see which names will brand a landmark climate-change measure. But at this rate, 'Waxman' is a leading contender for naming rights. House Energy and Commerce Chairman Henry A. Waxman, a longtime champion of more stringent environmental standards, is quietly dominating the climate debate even though there are other chairmen with skin in the game... Waxman kicked off his chairmanship earlier this year with a hearing on the issue, and he now plans to hold at least two hearings a week until he rolls out a comprehensive overhaul of the country's environmental policy before the Memorial Day weekend. Waxman's sprint out of the gates has left others playing catch-up, most notably Ways and Means Chairman Charles B. Rangel (D-N.Y.), whose committee has jurisdiction over any measure that generates revenue... Turf battles are commonplace on Capitol Hill, especially over major legislation, but this one -- should it shape up -- could have a distinct impact on the substance of the legislation Congress enacts, on an issue that could divide Democrats more than any other in President Barack Obama's agenda... There are differences between the Waxman approach and those being offered by members of Rangel's panel. Obama and Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) both prefer a cap-and-trade measure -- the president included hundreds of billions in revenue from this program in his first budget blueprint -- giving Waxman an advantage at this early stage in the debate. Ways and Means members are considering a more direct tax on carbon emissions, with rebates on utility bills passed back to consumers... Members of the Ways and Means panel argue that their direct tax on carbon emissions is more efficient. 'Ours is more direct, more transparent and provides more accountability,' said Connecticut Rep. John B. Larson, the fourth-ranking Democrat in the House who has introduced a carbon-tax measure from his post on the Ways and Means panel."