House Narrowly Passes Sweeping Cap-and-Trade Bill, Thank Your Representatives Who Voted “No”

Released July 2, 2009

On June 26 the U.S. House of Representatives narrowly passed the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (ACES, H.R.2454) with a roll-call vote of 219-212. Passage of the contentious 1,200 page cap-and-trade legislation came down to just four votes and involved a good deal of arm-twisting by Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), who had vowed the House would vote on the bill before the July 4 recess. Eight Republicans voted for the measure, with 44 Democrats opposing. Important details on the legislation are provided below.

ACES now heads to the Senate, where its chances of passage remain uncertain. Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, has indicated that the committee will mark-up legislation in the next month. The full Senate is not expected to move on the bill until at least the fall.

Action Requested: Now is the time to thank those in the House who voted against H.R. 2454. Simply find those that voted no by clicking on the link below (ACES No Votes), download the thank you letter (House Thank You Letter), fill the thank you letter out and fax to the appropriate person in your district. These Congressmen and Congresswomen faced an enormous amount of pressure to vote in favor of the bill, and we should express our appreciation for their no vote.

ACES No Votes (.xls format)
House Thank You Letter (.doc format)

ACES Summary:

The legislation, authored by Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA), would cap greenhouse gas (GHGs) emissions from covered sources (emit more than 25,000 tons of CO2) at 3% below 2005 emissions levels starting in 2012, 17% below 2005 levels by 2020, and 83% below 2005 levels by 2050. The bill also mandates that 15% of the nation’s electricity come from renewable sources by 2020. This is expected to significantly raise energy costs across all sectors. Though the bill provides for rebates to energy-intensive and trade-sensitive industries, all metalcasting facilities would not be considered eligible to receive these allocations. As a result, this bill would impose what amounts to a hefty energy tax on all metalcasters nationwide. Furthermore, the Heritage Foundation predicts that H.R. 2454 would reduce aggregate gross domestic product (GDP) by $9.6 trillion by 2035.

Other important provisions of the bill for metalcasters:

• Prohibits states from implementing their own cap-and-trade programs from 2012-2017;
  
• Prohibit EPA from listing GHGs as “criteria pollutants” under § 108 of the Clean Air Act on the basis of their effects on climate change. This effectively precludes the establishment of National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for GHG emissions;
  
• Entities not currently required to hold Title V permits would not become subject to an operating permit requirement solely due to their emissions of GHGs that are regulated solely because of climate change impacts;
  
• The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) would be prohibited from regulating GHGs as hazardous air pollutants unless the agency determines that those gases meet the criteria of § 112 of the Clean Air Act independent of climate change impacts.
  
• Provide that the New Source Review program (requires preconstruction permitting of new and modified stationary sources) would not apply to a major emitting facility that is initially permitted or modified after January 1, 2009, on the basis of its emissions of any GHGs.
  
• Requires additional performance-based regulation of GHG emissions from sources that are not subject to allowance obligations under the cap-and-trade program (i.e. do not emit more than 25,000 tons of CO2 ). The sources listed must individually have uncapped emissions of 10,000 tons CO2 or more.
  
• Requires the President to impose a tariff after 2010 on some goods from countries that do not limit their greenhouse gas emissions. It is the understanding of AFS that imported castings would not be subject to the tariff. President Obama has previously expressed reservations about this provision.

For more information on the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, contact Alicia Oman, Metalcasters Alliance for Government Affairs Washington, D.C. office, at aoman@afsinc.org or 202-842-4864.