Bipartisan Bill Pushes Carbon Fee

A new bipartisan proposal is being introduced by three members of the Florida delegation. Republican Representative Francis Rooney and Democrat Representatives Charlie Crist and Ted Deutch are supporting the “Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act” (EICDA) that aims to reduce carbon usage with price controls and offering rebates back to taxpaying Americans.

Groups such as the Climate Leadership Council, the Nature Conservancy, Citizens Climate Lobby, Alliance for Market Solutions, the National Wildlife Federation, Environmental Defense Fund and the National Audobon Society have all endorsed the proposal.

In addition, the three representatives are joined by Republican Representative Brian Fitzpatrick and Democrat John Delaney, who will be retiring from congress to focus on a Presidential run in 2020.

Representative Crist commented on the proposal, saying that “Since organizing Florida's first national climate change summit more than 10 years ago, it’s clear that reducing our carbon dependency is the key to winning this fight. The devastating findings released in last week's report show that the clock is ticking and continued inaction would be catastrophic – for our environment, our economy, and peoples’ health. We are taking an historic step with introduction of this bipartisan legislation; Congress must act with the urgency this crisis demands."

Representative Deutch noted that “This aggressive carbon pricing scheme introduced by members from both parties marks an important opportunity to begin to seriously address the immediate threat of climate change. The status quo is unsustainable; the time to act is right now."

And, Deutch’s office added that the bill “will help reduce U.S. carbon pollution by 40 percent in 10 years, with 91 percent reduction target by 2050 (vs. 2015 levels)” through “pricing carbon at $15 per metric ton of CO2e and increasing the price by $10 every year.” In addition, the “Treasury Department would return 100 percent of the net revenue back to the American people, a policy highlighted by a Treasury Department report as helping lower- and middle-income families.”