In This Issue:
- Van Hollen Introduces the Healthy Climate and Family Security Act of 2015
- CNN: Van Hollen Moving Climate Change with 2016 Leverage
- Washington Post: Focus Legislative Energy on a Carbon Policy, Not Keystone XL
- George Lakoff, The Hill: Climate-Fixing Stimulus for the Middle Class
- Steve Volk, Citizens Climate Lobby: Van Hollen Bill to Price Carbon Jumpstarts Critical Conversation
- RP Siegel, Triple Pundit: Introducing the Healthy Climate and Family Security Act
- Ted Glick: A Twofer for the Climate on February 24th
- Peter Barnes, Yes! Magazine: Paychecks from Earth and Sky
1) Van Hollen Introduces the Healthy Climate and Family Security Act of 2015
“Two of the most pressing challenges we face as a country are the economic and health risks of climate change and the middle class squeeze, and this bill offers a way to address both,” said Congressman Van Hollen. “This approach achieves necessary greenhouse gas reductions while boosting the purchasing power of families across the country. This bill is good for the climate, good for families, and good for the economy.”
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2) CNN: Van Hollen Moving Climate Change with 2016 Leverage:
“With Republicans in control of both houses of Congress, the odds of passing a climate change bill this year are virtually non-existent. But Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Maryland, plans to reintroduce legislation to cap carbon emissions this week, anyway, due in part to the impact it could have on the 2016 election. ‘Our goal is to keep attention focused on this issue as we head into this congressional session, and also into the presidential election in 2016,’ Van Hollen told CNN, explaining the bill serves as a vehicle for discussion.”
3) Washington Post: Focus Legislative Energy on a Carbon Policy, Not Keystone XL
“Mr. Van Hollen’s market-based version is elegant and effective. It would put a slowly declining cap on the country’s carbon dioxide emissions, requiring an 80 percent cut by 2050, and rely on basic economics, not Environmental Protection Agency commands. The government would raise a lot of money in permit auctions, but Mr. Van Hollen’s bill would give all of it back, sending rebate checks to every American with a Social Security number. Mr. Van Hollen reckons that 80 percent of U.S. households would come out ahead, despite the higher cost of gasoline and other carbon-dependent products.”
4) George Lakoff, The Hill: Climate-Fixing Stimulus for the Middle Class
“2014 was the warmest year on record. Global warming is already affecting the earth’s overall climate system. Meanwhile middle class life is getting tougher, as the share of the economy’s wealth for the bottom 90 percent has dropped from about 36 percent to 22 percent over the last 30 years. Van Hollen’s bill, The Healthy Climate and Family Security Act, would take a major step to solving both of these problems, through a mechanism called cap-and-dividend.”
5) Steve Volk, Citizens Climate Lobby: Van Hollen Bill to Price Carbon Jumpstarts Critical Conversation
“Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) jumpstarted the conversation to price carbon this week with the introduction of the Healthy Climate and Family Security Act of 2015. From CCL’s perspective, there’s a lot to like about Van Hollen’s bill, chiefly the fact that all of the revenue generated would be returned to households as direct, quarterly payments.”
6) RP Siegel, Triple Pundit: Introducing the Healthy Climate and Family Security Act
“While it’s not at all clear whether the Republican-dominated House will even take up the bill, it will provide a rallying point and get the conversation going. The fact that the bill is revenue neutral means that it is not a tax at all, giving it at least a fighting chance of passing Grover Norquist’s shoot first and aim later test on taxes that so many Republicans have pledged adherence to. What’s unique about this bill is that, unlike cap-and-trade bills, there are no offsets or loopholes that Van Hollen calls “leakage.” Every pound of carbon will be paid for. The dividend portion is also uncommon though there is a similar provision in Alaska’s Permanent Fund, which pays dividends to citizens for tolerating the presence of the oil industry in their state.”
7) Ted Glick: A Twofer for the Climate on February 24th
“’The Healthy Climate and Family Security Act would accelerate very quickly the biggest job on the planet: getting rid of carbon,” added Bill McKibben. ‘There would be no plan for Keystone XL if there was anything like a rational price on carbon.’ With Congressman Chris Van Hollen leading the way and the support of groups like 350.org, CCAN, Center for Popular Democracy, Center for Biological Diversity, National People’s Action, Public Citizen and the Sierra Club, a strong, fair and commonsense federal solution to price carbon is finally moving forward.”
8) Peter Barnes, Yes! Magazine: Paychecks from Earth and Sky
“The second reason to ponder Alaska’s dividends is climate change. It might seem odd that dividends based on oil could presage a remedy for climate change, but such is the case. Imagine if we charged companies for using another common resource—our air—and distributed the revenue equally to all. Higher air pollution costs would lead to less fossil fuel burning and more investment in renewables. And households that used less dirty energy would gain while households that used a lot of dirty energy would pay. This would spur both compa¬nies and households to do the right thing.”
CCAN encourages readers of the Cap and Dividend Policy Update to distribute it to others who might be interested. We welcome input on the contents of this publication and ideas for what could be included.