Resolution on Cap-and-Trade

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Resolution on Cap and Trade

Text of the Resolution as Adopted (PDF):

• Resolution on Cap-and-Trade - Adopted by the RNC on July 31, 2009

Text of the Resolution as Proposed:

WHEREAS Cap-and-Trade is a regulatory program under which the Federal government would 1) set a limit (cap) on the volume of emissions (such as carbon dioxide, mercury, nitrous oxide and sulphur) that would be permitted, and 2) distribute the rights to allowed emissions so that firms would be free to buy and sell those allotments after the initial distribution; and

WHEREAS Cap-and-Trade is a huge tax on our natural energy resources including coal, oil, and natural gas, totaling $846 billion in just the first 10 years according the Congressional Budget Office; and

WHEREAS the goal of Cap-and-Trade is to make gasoline and electricity much more expensive, as clearly stated by President Obama when he said

Under my plan of a cap and trade system electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket. Businesses would have to retrofit their operations. That will cost money. They will pass that cost onto consumers.

and

WHEREAS the cost for hard-working American families will be staggering, totaling $3,128 per family per year according to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and at least $1,218 per average annual household burden, which would be approximately 2% of the average household income, according to Tax Foundation Working Paper #6, 3/16/09; and

WHEREAS another goal of Cap-and-Trade is to bankrupt the coal industry, a vibrant industry that employs many thousands of Americans, as also clearly stated by President Obama:

So, if somebody wants to build a coal plant, they can — it’s just that it will bankrupt them, because they are going to be charged a huge sum for all that greenhouse gas that’s being emitted.

and

WHEREAS Cap-and-Trade is a stealth bailout for Wall Street special interests who stand to make billions of dollars buying, selling, and trading the emissions permits created and a wide array of derivatives based on them; and

WHEREAS these huge costs per family accomplish nothing environmentally because climate models show that the reductions would have no detectable impact on global average temperatures which fluctuate in natural cycles beyond human control; and

WHEREAS Cap-and-Trade could actually increase greenhouse gas emissions, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, which recently warned that Cap-and-Trade “can cause domestic production, which embodies the greenhouse gas allowance price, to shift abroad, which would thus result in an increase in greenhouse gas emissions.” (EPA Preliminary Analysis of the Waxman-Markey Discussion Draft The American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 in the 111th Congress 4/20/09); and

WHEREAS there are no safeguards to guarantee that the hundreds of billions of dollars in new revenue will be dedicated to energy research and development, and could therefore by easily diverted to other big government spending programs; therefore be it

RESOLVED, that we the members of the Republican National Committee recognize that Cap-and-Trade is a tax on energy that falls on hard-working American families and that the cost of this tax greatly exceed any benefit; especially in this time of economic crises; and be it further

RESOLVED, that we urge Congress to vote no on Cap-and-Trade and to reject all efforts to use global warming as a pretext to increase federal revenues; and be it further

RESOLVED, that we support the use of all energy sources that will reduce carbon emissions, especially nuclear, clean-coal and renewable energy technologies; and be it further

RESOLVED, that we support measures like the American Energy Act of June 10, 2009 that would expand our domestic energy production with responsible stewardship over the environment; and be it further

RESOLVED, that this resolution will be mailed to each congressional Republican and Republican state party.

Chief Sponsor

• Helen Van Etten, National Committeewoman for Kansas

 Co-Sponsors

• Cathie Adams, National Committeewoman for Texas
• Bruce Ash, National Committeeman for Arizona
• James Bopp, Jr., National Committeeman for Indiana
• Donna Cain, National Committeewoman for Oregon
• De Carlson, National Committeewoman for Nebraska
• Demetra DeMonte, National Committeewoman for Illinois
• Jeff Kent, National Committeeman for Washington
• Peggy Lambert, National Committeewoman for Tennessee
• Kim Lehman, National Committeewoman for Iowa
• Carolyn McLarty, National Committeewoman for Oklahoma
• Pete Ricketts, National Committeeman for Nebraska
• Steve Scheffler, National Committeeman for Iowa
• Ruth Ulrich, National Committeewoman for Louisiana
• Solomon Yue, National Committeeman for Oregon

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