Week in Review

Statement

Week in Review

Posted by: Sen. Richard Burr

Following the passage of the Waxman-Markey climate change bill in the House of Representatives two weeks ago, there continues to be a lot of talk about when this "cap and trade" legislation will be considered in the Senate. I do not support this legislation. I have heard from many North Carolinians who are concerned about how quickly this legislation is moving through Congress, and what it would mean for their family budgets and our economy. Yesterday, the Chair of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA), said that her committee will not begin consideration of this massive bill until September at the earliest.

The bill passed by the House establishes a massive new federal bureaucracy to regulate carbon dioxide emissions. While figures vary, it is clear the bill would lead to higher energy costs for North Carolina families and businesses--but with little measurable reduction in emissions. The new costs on business under this bill would also hurt our nation's manufacturing sector, threatening jobs and economic growth. This would be devastating to families, especially now when our economy is already experiencing a severe recession.

As we have seen in Europe, a unilateral approach to greenhouse gas emissions - which does not include countries like China and India - would not only jeopardize American competitiveness and send more jobs overseas, but it would also relocate greenhouse gas emissions to other countries. At the G-8 meeting in Italy this week, world leaders failed to secure an agreement from developing nations (particularly China and India) to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Without international agreement, a cap and trade regime enacted in the U.S. would only hurt our economy and provide no meaningful reduction in global greenhouse gases. The head of the Environmental Protection Agency, Lisa Jackson, recently confirmed this observation at a Senate hearing, saying "[T]hat U.S. action alone will not impact world CO2 levels." So rather than reducing global emissions, we would only be punishing ourselves under this cap and trade system while China and India continue to pollute with reckless abandon.

The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) also continued to debate health care reform legislation throughout the week. Next, the Senate Finance Committee will work on its portion of the bill, and Majority Leader Reid has indicated that he would like to have a vote on the measure before August. Senator Tom Coburn and I have introduced an alternative to the Democrats' proposal, the Patient's Choice Act. The Patient's Choice Act would provide access to quality, affordable health care for all Americans with no new taxes. The President says health care reform is needed to save the economy, but what he doesn't mention is that under the Democrat Plan, we'd have to spend another trillion dollars to do it. To hear more about my position on health care, and a number of other issues, click here to listen to an interview I did with Kelly Epperson of WPAQ in Mount Airy this morning. Also, please visit my website to learn more about the Patient's Choice Act.

Also this week, I had the honor of meeting Master Sergeant Brendan O'Connor, a medic in the 7th Special Forces Group, who recently earned the Distinguished Service Cross for his valor in Afghanistan. One of the privileges of being a Senator is that we have the opportunity to meet extraordinary people every day, but sometimes we get to meet amazing individuals whom we can honestly call heroes, who lay their lives on the line for their country and sacrifice themselves for our freedom. Master Sergeant O'Connor is one of these very special people and I was honored to visit with him and his family. Click here to read the statement honoring Master Sergeant O'Connor I gave on the floor.

The Senate is scheduled next week to take up the Defense Authorization bill, which authorizes funding for our military. As a member of the Armed Services Committee, I have the opportunity to see first-hand how this money would be spent. One issue of particular importance to North Carolinians is the location of an outlaying landing field (OLF). In Committee meetings, I offered and voted for an amendment that would prohibit the establishment of an OLF at Sandbanks or Hale's Lake in North Carolina. Although my amendment did not pass in Committee, I plan to offer my amendment again on the floor.

For additional updates about what is going on in Washington, please visit my blog.

Thank you, and have a great weekend!

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