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House Leadership Bypassing Key Committees on Cap and Tax
By Rep. Spencer Bachus | 06/24/09 | 09:25 PM EDT | 7 Comments
The Democrat leadership is preventing the public from learning important details about the cap and tax plan by bypassing several key committees.
As a Ranking Member on the Financial Services Committee, I called for hearings on the bill's creation of a massive trading scheme for carbon emissions.
It sounds altogether too familiar - a brand new, hard to price, vast convoluted market of carbon derivatives. And if these warnings are correct, one that could certainly pose a systemic risk in the financial markets. In addition, this bill provides for tree-planting projects to be used as carbon offsets. But the trees could be in Brazil or Borneo. If there is a tree-planting project in Brazil, worthy as that may be, should American taxpayers pay for it? In addition, such projects, particularly in remote or developing countries, are notoriously difficult to confirm and monitor. The legal description of the land could be changed and offsets securitized many times. We found that even in the U.S., with a established rule of law and well-established regulatory system, the subprime mortgage market was subject to countless different schemes and manipulation
My committee should be given time to review "green housing" mandates that could lead to stiff fines against owners and builders. Penalties for violating the act are $100 per day. A day! What effect does such a law have on home prices, on seniors trying to sell their home in a tough market, and builders struggling to sell their inventory of unsold homes?
I am very disturbed by the repeated pattern of the House leadership in rushing expensive legislation like cap and tax, the so-called stimulus package, and appropriations bills to a vote without adequate review or debate. It’s irresponsible to fast-track legislation that puts taxpayers on the hook for literally trillions of dollars.
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They have no regard for the taxpayers. Are we to believe they actually want a review? Of course they are going to fast-track this legislation. At the end of the day it's about implementing their leftist agenda.
Cap and Tax and now health care. They can ram anything down our throats. This is sickening.
When are the losers in the GOP going to realize that their time has come and gone. The American people elected the Democrats for a reason. They want more government! All this squabling about free markets and smaller government is a joke. Your own president grew government at an unprecedented rate and now all you can do is point fingers at the democrats. Enjoy your Tea Parties!!
Derivatives are systemic threats to our financial system, but not if they're used to make people plant trees!
*facepalm*
Tree planting in Brazil? Sounds about right.
I hope the republicans are going to step-up and fight against this travesty of a bill. You are letting the democrats run rough shod over our country. Why should my money pay for trees in Brazil? This cap and trade is a joke, and by the way my company converts vehicles to natural gas so for my company it would be very profitable, but for our country it stinks. Any republican who votes for this will have hell to pay.
Thank you Spencer, for standing up to this ridiculous legislation. Thanks even more for offering this explanation on the internet so that "useful idiots" may be converted. My children deserve a better future than the one being advanced by Al Gore and President Obama. I, for one, do not relish our needless descent into third world status, and unlike most Americans, I have SEEN personally how badly the people live in countries like Guatemala and even Russia. America has made many mistakes over the years from which we have thankfully been able to recover. The current assault on our economy and personal liberties may well be the first in a long line of unrecoverable errors. It begs the question: When America is in need of external assistance to restore freedom and prosperity, who will come to her aid? It has always been America who came to the aid of others. Who will save America when even America isn't really America anymore? May God bless your efforts Spencer.
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