The release of climate change legislation being drafted by Senators John Kerry (D-Mass.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.) was once again delayed when Senator Graham pulled out of negotiations last weekend over Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's (D-Nev.) handling of negotiation on immigration legislation. However, the draft bill has been sent to the Environmental Protection Agency (with Senator Graham's consent) for an economic study that needs to be performed before the bill can be considered in the Senate.
It remains unclear in what form a fee on motor fuels will take. AGC has been informed by one of the Senators writing the legislation that it will not be a "linked-fee" on motor fuels based on the price of carbon, but would instead require oil and gas producers to buy special, non-tradable emission allowances that would be pegged to the carbon market and retired at a certain date. Questions remain as to what if any of the revenue generated from this mechanism of billing the oil and gas industry would be dedicated to the Highway Trust Fund.
AGC continues meeting with Senate offices to ensure that any money derived from fees on motor fuels be deposited into the Highway Trust Fund and used to finance a multi-year surface transportation bill. Support this effort by sending a letter through AGC's Legislative Action Center.
In a related activity, the EPA continues plans to move forward with efforts to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act. AGC opposes this effort because it could lead to a requirement that EPA approve all building and land use permits. Please urge your Senators and Congressman to support Congressional resolutions that would block EPA's efforts to regulate greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act.
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