On Friday, June 26, the House of Representatives passed the historic Waxman-Markley comprehensive energy bill by a vote of 219 to 212. H.R. 2454, formally titled the American Clean energy and Security Act of 2009 includes a market-based cap & trade global warming reduction plan designed to reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions 17% by the year 2020. This is not where we need to be. It is thought that we will have to reduce emissions 80% by 2050 in order to stabilize the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere at a level that prevent the worst consequences of global warming. Still the bill is a start and it has won praise from environmental groups like the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC):
“The House of Representatives has made a dramatic breakthrough for America’s future by choosing to create jobs, move to clean energy, and reduce global warming pollution. The passage of this legislation, which was almost unimaginable six months ago, will help set our country in a new direction by shifting to a clean energy economy and reducing the carbon pollution that causes global warming.
“While passing the bill through the House took hard work and compromises on many sides, this is strong and vital legislation that Congress needs to deliver to the President’s desk this year. This bill will help create new jobs in manufacturing and clean technology. It will increase energy efficiency, help consumers save on energy bills, and protect lower-income families. And it will finally put our country on a course to limit the carbon pollution that causes global warming.
Sadly our own Congressman, Republican Peter Roskam, was not a party to that “hard work and compromise”. Roskam voted against the bill, choosing to support the narrow interests of his big campaign donors from the energy sector, who opposed the bill, rather than act to save the planet from an impending catastrophe that threatens the welfare of our children and of generations to come.
OpenSecrets.org, a project of the Center for Responsive Politics, today released data demonstrating how the industries that have worked to oppose climate change legislation gave, on average, twice the amount of campaign contributions to legislators, Democrat and Republican alike, who, like Roskam, opposed the legislation, as they did to those voting in favor. The table below compares contributions received by industry for the average “yes” voter on H.R. 2454, the average, “no” voter, and for Peter Roskam. Bear in mind that while contributions are totaled back to 1989, Roskam has only been running since 2006.
| Industry | Yes Voters Avg | No Voters Avg | Roskam |
|---|---|---|---|
| Energy Sector | $124,181 | $274,021 | $240,765 |
| Oil & Gas | $31,663 | $120,566 | $138,815 |
| Electric utilities | $67,013 | $102,370 | $73,800 |
| Coal Mining | $2,279 | $12,004 | $1,000 |
| Construction | $138,569 | $241,079 | $297,517 |
| Automakers | $10,603 | $11,982 | $0 |
| Business PACs | $1,380,210 | $1,901,371 | $,1529,147 |
| Environmentalists | $21,198 | $3,088 | $0 |
| Alternative Energy | $1,250 | $869 | $0 |
You can draw your own conclusions but in my estimation this speaks volumes about why Roskam votes as he does.
The climate bill will now have to be taken up by the Senate where the fight is likely to be even tougher than it was in the House. I predict that 6th District residents will be hearing a lot more lobbying against the bill by our Congressman.
