Acid rain amendment not in Senate cap-trade bill
By NATHAN BROWN, Enterprise Staff WriterArticle Photos
In June, John McHugh, who then still represented New York's 23rd Congressional District, was one of only eight Republicans in the House of Representatives to vote for the cap-and-trade bill. He said at the time that he thought the bill was "far from perfect" but was glad that he was successful in getting provisions into it to regulate the emissions that cause acid rain, which kills lakes and trees in the Adirondacks.
Last week the U.S. Senate released a draft version of the bill that does not include McHugh's amendment.
"We were very disappointed at the beginning, when we first saw the bill," said John Sheehan, spokesman for the Adirondack Council, which had frequently praised McHugh while he was in Congress for his support of acid rain controls.
Sheehan said the Council has talked to senators Kirsten Gillibrand and Charles Schumer of New York, and both said they favored the acid rain provisions and would work to get them reinstated.
"(Schumer) and Gillibrand can play a role, because he's got seniority in the Senate and she's part of the Environmental and Public Works Committee," Sheehan said.
The bill passed the House in June by seven votes and aims to cut carbon emissions 17 percent below 2005 levels by 2020 through increasing clean energy generation and putting limits on emissions. McHugh's amendment would give the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 18 months to study the effects of different carbon-reduction strategies on reducing emissions.
Sheehan said Schumer's office told the Council that it was busy with health care and would work to reinstate the acid rain provisions after New Year's.
McHugh resigned from Congress last month to become Army secretary. Bill Owens is the Democratic and Working Families candidate for the seat, Dede Scozzafava the Republican and Independence candidate, and Doug Hoffman is the Conservative candidate. The special election to fill the remaining year of McHugh's term will be Nov. 3.
Both Scozzafava and Hoffman have said they oppose the cap-and-trade bill, saying its regulations will destroy jobs and raise energy costs. Owens favored the House version of the bill, said Owens spokesman John Boughtin.
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Contact Nathan Brown at 891-2600 ext. 26 or nbrown@adirondackdailyenterprise.com.
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BarbaraF
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10-14-09 8:44 AM
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Let's see, the House bill has Cap & Trade. Then the Senate takes it out. Schumer says he's too busy with health care but would work on getting this reinstated. Forgive me, Chuck, but had you kept it in, there would be NO incremental work - why take it out in the first place? And btw, ever hear of multi-tasking? Hope the environment can wait until YOU're ready to focus on it. Hope we can wait.
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FishCric
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10-13-09 11:52 PM
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I'd nuke ya:)
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AntiLib
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10-13-09 5:22 PM
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This RINO bought off by Odumba with his appointment as Secretary of the Army.
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FishCric
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10-13-09 4:46 PM
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Let industry ring ! pox on the eco slimes:)
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tourist
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10-13-09 3:14 PM
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This program will put the emmission levels back to the 1930's levels. Lets get China to clean up its air before we ship whatever remaining jobs off to China as a result of this bill....
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twinrivers
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10-13-09 1:44 PM
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The same scare tactics about jobs and corporate suffering were used when the cap and trade program was proposed to reduce the emissions that cause acid rain. That program has been successful. Scozzafava and Hoffman prefer a carbon tax? or would rather just say no than propose a solution?
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