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.