Final version of 'cap and trade bill' awaited

WHEELING - Two congressmen from West Virginia say they will await the final version of the "cap and trade bill" before deciding their vote on the measure.

The U.S. House is expected to see the legislation a bill intended to reduce fossil fuel emissions over the next 40 years sometime before the July 4 recess.

"When we see the final legislation we are asked to vote on, it will be the appropriate time to make a final decision on the bill and that decision will be based on the best interests of my constituents, as those interests would be impacted by the legislation," said U.S. Rep. Alan Mollohan, D-W.Va.

U.S. Rep. Nick Rahall, chairman of the House Committee on Natural Resources, also is waiting to see what details the bill contains.

"Chairman Rahall remains undecided on how he plans to vote on the cap and trade bill," said Allyson Groff, communications director for the House Committee on Natural Resources.

Messages left both Monday and Tuesday with the office of U.S. Rep. Zack Space, D-Ohio, seeking his stance on the measure have not been answered.

U.S. Rep. Charles Wilson, D-Ohio, already has said he will oppose cap and trade legislation, as has U.S. Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va.

The cap and trade bill, also known as the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, would require an 83-percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. It establishes financial incentives for businesses that work to reduce carbon emissions in the atmosphere by paying them for the "carbon credits" that result from the reductions.

Other businesses - such as utility companies - with a need to burn fossil fuels would be able to purchase the "carbon offsets," which would be auctioned.

Over the weekend, the Congressional Budget Office released estimates showing that the proposed "cap-and-trade" provisions of the climate bill would cost $22 billion a year by 2020. It's assumed by the CBO that these costs would be passed on to consumers, with the projected price being $175 per household annually.