Spring Break
Cap and trade bill will hurt economy
The new carbon monitoring bill will make costs skyrocket.
By: Torrey Ognoskie
Issue date: 7/6/09 Section: Opinion
Perhaps the worst thing about this bill is that, like the so-called "stimulus" bill, nobody really knows what is in this thing. The bill itself is over 1,000 pages, and the Democratic leadership in the House had the audacity to drop a 300-page amendment to the bill at 3:09 a.m. on the morning before the vote.
This was not an amendment that added something to the bill or changed just one part. Instead, it was meant to be pieced together with the actual bill, and it changed different provisions throughout the original 1,000 pages. The end result is that no one really knew what they were voting on.
Even Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), the bill's co-sponsor, was unable to answer specific questions about the bill during committee hearings. Instead, he and other supporters of the bill resorted to grandstanding and spouting off platitudes and criticisms of the Bush Administration. What we witnessed in the House that Friday was an absolute mockery of our legislative process.
President Obama has made it no secret that he will sign this bill. That means the only thing standing in the way of this nonsense is the U.S. Senate. Fortunately, even most Democrats are skeptical at best about it getting the necessary votes there. However, regardless of its passage, this "Cap and Trade" bill represents a tremendous disservice to the American people.
It is a mystery to everyone who voted on it, it raises taxes and it represents another massive increase in the size of the federal government. No thanks.
Torrey Ognoskie is a member of the Class of 2008.
This was not an amendment that added something to the bill or changed just one part. Instead, it was meant to be pieced together with the actual bill, and it changed different provisions throughout the original 1,000 pages. The end result is that no one really knew what they were voting on.
Even Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), the bill's co-sponsor, was unable to answer specific questions about the bill during committee hearings. Instead, he and other supporters of the bill resorted to grandstanding and spouting off platitudes and criticisms of the Bush Administration. What we witnessed in the House that Friday was an absolute mockery of our legislative process.
President Obama has made it no secret that he will sign this bill. That means the only thing standing in the way of this nonsense is the U.S. Senate. Fortunately, even most Democrats are skeptical at best about it getting the necessary votes there. However, regardless of its passage, this "Cap and Trade" bill represents a tremendous disservice to the American people.
It is a mystery to everyone who voted on it, it raises taxes and it represents another massive increase in the size of the federal government. No thanks.
Torrey Ognoskie is a member of the Class of 2008.
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