Obama/Waxman Fast Track Carbon Tax

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CLICK TO LISTEN TO GRASSFIRE AUDIO REPORT ON CARBON TAX VOTE
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UPDATE 5/22 -- Committee Passes Cap and Trade Tax, 33-25
Waxman's 934-page Cap and Trade Carbon Tax bill was approved by the House Energy and Commerce Committee 33-25. Thirty two (of 36) Democrats and one Republican voted in favor of the bill. Four Democrats identified by Grassfire as key targets voted "NO."

Breakdown of the Vote
The Committee does not formally publish the actual Roll Call Vote for the H.R. 2454, but our sources on the Hill confirm the following list of "yea" votes in favor of imposing the cap and trade Carbon Tax:

Democrats Voting YES:

Henry A. Waxman, CA, Chair,
John D. Dingell, MI, Chair Emeritus
Edward J. Markey, MA ,
Rick Boucher, VA
Frank Pallone, Jr., NJ
Bart Gordon, TN
Bobby L. Rush, IL
Anna G. Eshoo, CA
Bart Stupak, MI
Eliot L. Engel, NY
Gene Green, TX
Diana DeGette, CO
Lois Capps, CA
Mike Doyle, PA
Jane Harman, CA
Jan Schakowsky, IL
Charles A. Gonzalez, TX
Jay Inslee, WA
Tammy Baldwin, WI
Anthony D. Weiner, NY
G.K. Butterfield, NC
Baron P. Hill, IN
Doris O. Matsui, CA
Donna M. Christensen, VI
Kathy Castor, FL
John P. Sarbanes, MD
Christopher S. Murphy, CT
Zachary T. Space, OH
Jerry McNerney, CA
Betty Sutton, OH
Bruce L. Braley, IA
Peter Welch, VT

Lone Republican Voting "YES"
Mary Bono Mack, CA

These Democrats voted “No”: Charlie Melancon, LA , Mike Ross, AR, Jim Mtheson, UT, John Barrow, GA

Next Steps
Thanks to the efforts of grassroots citizens across the country, the bill leaves the committee weakened. News reports indicate that Democrats in the House are still very divided. One faction, led by Charles Rangel, prefers the direct carbon tax over the cap-and-trade carbon tax. Rangel is threatening to hold the bill up. Collin Peterson (D-MN) heads up another faction of midwestern and
Ag state Democrats who disapprove of the bill. Peterson said after the vote, “They can do whatever they want with this, but I can tell you, there is no way this is going to pass.” Peterson claims he has 40 Democrats who will vote "No" if this is taken to the floor.

Idaho Democrat Walt Minnick, who formerly supported the cap and trade tax, now says the tax “will spawn a big bureaucracy and is susceptive to manipulation and misuse."

The Senate is another significant hurdle.

We expect Waxman's bill to slowly work its way through the House toward a floor vote in late June or early July. So, in our assessment, with the bill limping out of committee grassroots citizens win Round One of this very important battle.

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UPDATE 5/19 -- 12 Key Democrats
Grassfire has identified 12 key Democrats on the committee who will decide the fate of the cap-and-trade Carbon Tax. Here is the list:
Rep. Michael Ross (AR) 202-225-3772
Rep. Charlie Melancon (LA) 202-225-4031
Rep. G. Butterfield (NC) 202-225-3101
Rep. Zack Space (OH) 202-225-6265
Rep. Michael Doyle (PA) 202-225-2135
Rep. Bart Gordon (TN) 202-225-4231
Rep. Charles Gonzalez (TX) 202-225-3236
Rep. Gene Green (TX) 202-225-1688
Rep. James Matheson (TX) 202-225-3011
Rep. Rick Boucher (VA) 202-225-3861
Rep. Peter Welch (VT) 202-225-4115
Rep. Jay Inslee (WA) 202-225-6311

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UPDATE 5/19--"Smoking Gun"
Here is the "smoking gun" memo from Obama's OMB that directly criticizes the economic impact of the Carbon Tax as well as the validity of the entire climate alarmism scheme-- Full document here (.pdf), and two key excerpts:

"SERIOUS ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES"
"Making the decision to regulate CO2 ... for the first time is likely to have serious economic consequences for regulated entities throughout the U.S. economy, including small businesses and small communities."

"NO DEMONSTRATED HEALTH EFFECTS"
In the absence of a strong statement of the standards being applied in this decision, there is a concern that EPA is making a finding based on (1) "harm" from substances that have no demonstrated direct health effects."

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UPDATE: Listen to Steve Elliott's interview with G. Gordon Liddy on the Carbon Tax.

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(Original Post)
All signs indicate that President Obama and Rep. Henry Waxman are pushing for a key vote on the Carbon Tax BEFORE Memorial Day -- a tax that studies show will cost each family $3,100 each and every year.

Last week, Obama met behind closed doors with House Democrats to pressure them to pass the Carbon Tax. Now, Waxman is even contemplating skipping the Subcommittee hearing on the $2 trillion Carbon Cap and Trade Tax (The Waxman-Markey bill; original draft here; summary here) and fast-tracking this new tax straight to his Energy and Commerce Committee.

Waxman wants this all done by the end of next week… and Team Obama is turning up the heat on key Democrats in the House to pressure quick passage of the Carbon Tax.

+ + +Why Obama and Waxman Are Fast-Tracking The CO2 Tax

There’s a reason Obama and Waxman are pulling out the stops to pressure Democrats to pass this tax through the Committee…

Obama, Waxman, Pelosi and the gang fear that any delays
could kill their precious plan to “save the planet” and give
the government the power to tax and control the air!

That’s because even some Democrats are now getting nervous about imposing such a large tax at a time when the economy is struggling. Reports indicate this new tax could cost the average American over $3,000 every year and result in 7 million lost jobs! (Go here to download a .pdf of the MIT report from which the $3,100 estimate is generated.

Here is the pertinent data from pages 24-25 which reports $366 billion it carbon tax revenues. The GOP is using this number, divided by 111 million households, to derive the roughly $3,100 cost per family.)

Dems -- especially the Blue Dog Dems -- are getting very squeamish. Many are particularly annoyed that Waxman is considering skipping the subcommittee hearing in order to rush the bill to the full committee and get his vote by the Memorial Day break. The New York Times reports that Waxman will produce a new version of the bill this week to appease the concerns of moderates.

+ +Americans Oppose this new Tax

Democrats and the White House try to claim that cap and trade is not a tax. But Warren Buffett recently admitted that cap and trade is a "regressive" tax that the utilities will "pass through" to consumers. And even Democrat John Dingell admitted recently that "Cap and Trade is a tax, and a great big one."

How big is this tax? Obama's shows "only" $600 billion for carbon tax revenues -- that alone would be the largest single tax increase in history. But the real, hidden number is closer to $2 trillion over 8 years. And the American people overwhelmingly do NOT want the Carbon Tax (by a 2-to-1 margin according to Pew Research).

+ + +Global “reset” of the economy under way!

If the cap-and-trade scheme passes, it will initiate the most radical restructuring of our economy toward socialism in American history. And don’t be fooled… Al Gore and “Big Environment” will get filthy rich in the process. In fact, as Timothy Carney of the Washington Examiner explains, companies like GE are lining up to profit from the global warming scheme. Carney points out that GE has invested millions in lobbying in favor of carbon tax related schemes. And GE's Chairman Jeffrey Immelt actually sees a global "reset" of capitalism under way:

"I believe we are going through more than a cycle. The global economy, and capitalism, will be “reset” in several important ways. The interaction between government and business will change forever. In a reset economy, the government will be a regulator; and also an industry policy champion, a financier, and a key partner."

Waxman wants to fly under the radar and push the Carbon Tax Scheme before the American people realize what is happening. As a result, the most crucial vote on the Carbon Tax cap-and-trade scheme may be taking place before Memorial Day.

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Comment by yvonne wittig on May 13, 2009 at 11:16pm: I have written on this many times, it makes me see red,the lies that are told as actual facts.I heard today while I was working in my garden and I have not had a chance to check it out.Apparently a memo from the Obama's camp has been leaked and it said that their is no proof about CO2 being the cause of the so called Global Warming,and that it is not a poisions gas.Well suprise,suprise,any idiot knows that CO2 is nothing but plant food.Research has proven that the rise of CO2 comes after a warming not the cause but the results.

Alfred Deramo said it right,Big Al has been pushing this because it fits right into his business in Silicone Valley,buying and selling carbon credits.GE has been in trouble for quite some time now,they own NBC and MSNBC,the networks that were in the tank this last election for our New President,I am sure this is payback.GE has invested in the so called green theory.I am so sick and tired of hearing about going green and global footprints.

After my study to find out exactly what GW was I came to the decision that this was nothing but a money making scheme dreamed up to get control over our energy,which is control over the economy which will be complete control over our lives. The new admistration wants to have control over our lives from birth to death.This will give them the tax money to do it.The only problem,it will be so damming for the public to try and survive,there will be trouble. When our utilities raise 3 and 4 times what they are normally people will not be able to heat their houses or cool them in the summer.All this hoop ba la for a make believe crsis.Big Al I am sure salvating thinking of all the money he will be raking in. I do hope the Republicans and all of America wakes up and causes such a ruckus that it won't get through Congress,where Mizz Pelosi wants to please her big boss.

Comment by Al Deramo on May 13, 2009 at 4:45pm: I worked for 18 years as an Environmental Scientist for my state's environmental agency. I was responsible for tracking climate change issues, and was a founding member of our agency's Climate Change Committee. I have examined all of the studies on global warming. Not a single study has passed a rigorous scientific review. Some are in error, and others are outright fraudulent. There is no such thing as a normal, static climate on earth. Climate has been fluctuating since the earth began. Not a single researcher has been able to prove that a warming of the atmosphere due to carbon dioxide emissions since the industrial revolution is occuring. There is no overall trend since the beginning of the industrial revolution that is outside of the natural climate change trend since the last mini ice age. The short, alternating warming and cooling trends since the beginning of the industrial revolution have been within the expected normal climate fluctuations. Each of those trends are only a few decades long, and balance each other out. Furthermore, carbon dioxide is not a pollutant, in spite of what EPA is now claiming. Carbon dioxide is essential for life. It is no more a pollutant than oxygen. Without carbon dioxide, none of us would be here. It does not threaten the health or safety of humans, animals or plants. It does not damage property. Studies of the fossil record have shown that the atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide have had a wider range of fluctuation during the earth's history than the fluctuation seen since the beginning of the industrial revolution. The fossil record has shown that periods when life on earth flourishes correspond with the higher levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide, and periods of difficulty for life correspond with the lower levels of carbon dioxide. In a nut shell, those who profess that man-made global warming has been proven are not telling the truth. And those who claim that an elevated level of atmospheric carbon dioxide will create destruction on earth are directly contradicting the vast body of climate data obtained from the fossil record. Many of those people claim that those of us who are telling the truth about the global warming hoax are in the pockets of the oil companies. This claim is a ploy these people use in order to avoid having an honest and open debate about the scientific facts. I worked for a government agency. I have no connection whatsoever with any oil company, and never have! I don't even know a single person who works for an oil company! Before we sink the American consumer and American companies with a bogus carbon tax, shouldn't America at least have an open and honest debate on the facts about climate change? Write, call or fax your senators and representative, express your opposition to the greenhouse gas Cap & Trade program and Carbon Tax, and demand that they conduct an fair and open national debate on the man-made global warming theory.

Comment by Robert on May 13, 2009 at 4:37pm: This Cap and Trade nonsense is a great issue for Republicans. The American people do not want the cost of energy to greatly increase and any Congressman who votes for this idiocy will hear it from his constituents. Obambi and the far left Dems in Congress are on a suicidal path and we must help them along. Let's use this issue to disillusion the American public about the nonsense that Obambi is "moderate" and "practical." He is a far left true believer.

Comment by David C. on May 13, 2009 at 2:12pm: Please, everyone go to your representative and encourage them to vote against this legislation!

http://www.house.gov/

making our voices heard is the first step

Comment by Al Clapp on May 13, 2009 at 2:11pm: Many things seem to be coming to a head very soon. The latest question mark on people's minds is why census takers are rushing to take GPS coordinates of every American's front door by July of this year, when the census isn't until next year (2010), especially since the program was originally intended for mapping scattered villages in 3rd world underdeveloped countries? Nobody has yet come forward with a valid reason for doing this in America, other than it makes it ridiculously easy for any non-English speaking foreigner to find your front door.
Then there's the question of why Obama is pushing for ratification of CIFTA, which has been sitting dead on the Senate floor since 1999, which allows 35 foreign nations to have access to the names (& addresses) of every American with a registered firearm. This is also considered a 'back door' approach to full registration of all firearms, it would also outlaw the freedom of American citizens to manufacture/reload their own ammunition, and mandate further restrictions on transport of firearms across state lines.
There's also the continued assault on the "gun show loophole" which is not a loophole at all, it's the right and freedom every private American citizen has to sell/transfer any long gun (rifle/shotgun) to any other legal American within his/her own state without the need for a criminal background check or registration. Anti-gun supporters want this legislation passed as it will require ALL firearms to be registered whenever they change hands, one more giant step toward total gun registration, thus allowing a corrupt government an additional crucial step toward future gun confiscation and public disarmament.

The downright lies that the media, such as MSNBC, have been spreading about '90% of all guns used by the cartels in Mexico came from America' is meant to instill a sense of urgency and guilt in the minds of the sheepish general populace, so as to quickly pass further anti-gun legislation. In reality 90% of the "traceable guns" came from the U.S., which amounts to only 17% of all the guns confiscated. It was the other 83% of all confiscated guns that were fully-automatic weapons, greanades, grenade and rocket launchers, (stuff you can't buy in the U.S.), that came up from South America, and were manufactured in China, Russia, Yugoslavia, Romania, and other non-U.S. countries, (who jump at the chance to sell firearms to anyone with the money - especially if they become a thorn in the side of the U.S.).

The present administration is feverishly conducting a policy and control Blitzkrieg, as if time were it's greatest enemy.

"When the government fails to work, someone will seize power. I believe this may have happened in November." -ripperbravo6

"Waiting periods are only a step. Registration is only a step. The prohibition of private firearms is the goal." -U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno, December 1993

Comment by Ashley on May 13, 2009 at 2:06pm: NO, we need to bumrush Washington and throw these bastards out on their asses. They are no longer working for us so therefore they are FIRED!

Comment by Phyllis J. McArthur on May 13, 2009 at 1:42pm: Looks like the demos want to charge everyone when it is not necessary

Comment by Ethan G. Wilson on May 13, 2009 at 1:34pm: Is there a bill # assigned to this yet?

Comment by James on May 13, 2009 at 1:28pm: This has been the problem with Clinton all the way to obama the con man. Everything is done in secrecy behind closed doors. If all this legislation that is being rammed down our throats, is good for us, then why is it always done in secrecy and why are they always in hurry to push it through? Were the ones who are forced to pay for all their trash, so we need to let them know how we feel. Get on the phones with your congressmen, senators, Govenors, whatever it takes and tell them you are opposed to not only the carbon tax, but anymore of there useless spending of our money. And if they plan on being reelected, they'd better listen to you. Also, let them know that we are keeping track of how they vote

Comment by Leon Duminiak on May 13, 2009 at 12:49pm: I have little hope that the courts or the American public will do anything to stop the current Obama agenda. The nation has become a population of children who look to their daddy in the White House to take care of all their worries. We have become almost fully subscribed to the belief that government has all the answers and won't let anything bad happen. If so, then who is to blame for our current failures? This is like a replay of FDR and his failed economic and social programs. The U.S. only returned to prosperity through WWII and the post war recovery. What will it take this time?