Clarification of Reichert Global Warming Legislation

Press Release

Clarification of Reichert Global Warming Legislation

It was recently brought to the attention of the Office of Congressman Dave Reichert that his support of legislation was misstated in two recent press releases, dated April 16, 2008 and April 22, 2008. The Congressman is a cosponsor of the Climate Stewardship Act, and the releases incorrectly referred to the Safe Climate Act.

This was an inadvertent mix-up by his staff (possibly stemming from the considerable amount of time that the office has spent studying two similar, but distinct, and comprehensive pieces of cap-and-trade legislation that address global warming and reduce CO2 emissions). There was no intention to misstate his position or give the impression he was supporting a different bill.

To clarify, Congressman Reichert has actively considered two pieces of cap-and-trade legislation to address global warming and reduce CO2 emissions: the Climate Stewardship Act (HR 620) and the Safe Climate Act (HR 1590). He is one of only 14 Republicans on the most viable cap-and-trade bill in the U.S. House of Representatives supporting climate change legislation.

While he agrees with the underlying principles in the Safe Climate Act, he has cosponsored the Climate Stewardship Act because it is the most feasible piece of legislation that takes important steps to fight climate change, and does so in a way that doesn't negatively impact consumers. It leaves important decisions to elected officials in Congress that can be held accountable, rather than officials within the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

By contrast, the Safe Climate Act, while an important bill, does not indicate how the new cap and trade system will work; but rather mandates that the EPA develop a system to reduce emissions by 80% by 2050.

Because a cap-and-trade system would create a new regulatory market, Reichert believes Congress should have a more significant role in shaping how the EPA will implement the new system (the bill he supports calls for over 70% reduction by 2050).

Regardless of what bill comes through Congress, Congressman Reichert looks forward to shaping the debate in a way that immediately addresses this problem while maintaining economic growth for the nation.

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