The letter below from Senator Robert Menendez is a response to a letter that I sent him on June 28 and posted with that date. His letter is dated July 16, and I received it on August 23.
The positions Senator Menendez articulates in his letter are excellent overall. I have put some particularly significant statements in bold. The flaw I see is his apparent support for the system called “carbon cap-and-trade.” [See 4th paragraph, last sentence.] I doubt that Congress can ever draft and adopt legislation incorporating this system that will be effective and fair. A system of “carbon fee-and-dividend” has a much better chance for success, and I make that case in several articles on this site.
Majority Leader Senator Harry Reid decided later in July that the American Power Act, that Senator Menendez refers to in his letter, did not have sufficient support and he tabled it for this session.
Bill Allen, August 23, 2010
Dear Mr. Allen:
Thank you for contacting me to express your support for comprehensive legislation addressing global warming. Your opinion is very important to me, and I appreciate the opportunity to respond to you on this critical issue.
I completely agree with you that we need to immediately and boldly address the devasting effects of climate change. That is why I have been a vocal advocate of efforts to cap and gradually reduce our emissions of greenhouse gases. I also supported the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act of 2008, which unfortunately did not become law.
While we did not have the votes to pass climate change legislation last Congress, those of us on the front lines of this battle have been hopeful that a new President, a new Congress, and an electorate increasingly ready to go in a new energy direction, would combine to make this the year to finally address climate change. The tragic oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico is a sobering reminder of the dangers of our continued reliance on dirty sources of energy. Now is the time to put our country on a path to clean energy, which will rebuild our manufacturing base by creating clean energy jobs, reduce our dangerous dependence on foreign energy, and cut global warming pollution.
I am pleased that the release of the American Power Act, a comprehensive clean energy and climate change bill authored by Senators John Kerry and Joe Lieberman, has focused attention on the importance of changing the way we do business on energy. I support the intent of this legislation and am pleased that it would put in place a foundation for a clean energy economy. The bill sets a strong cap on greenhouse gas emissions, creating a system that puts a price on carbon and rewards innovative businesses that manage to reduce their release of global warming pollution.
While I am pleased that this legislative effort is underway, I believe that we need to strengthen this legislation in order to move even more boldly in a new energy direction. My concerns about the dangers of offshore drilling have been realized in the form of the BP oil spill, and I want to make sure that this legislation contains adequate protections against offshore drilling for the Jersey Shore, one of our state’s economic engines. I also am hopeful that we can tip the balance of the bill’s investiments away from dirty fossil fuels and toward clean energy and energy efficiency projects. Lastly, I believe the legislation must allow states to act more boldly to curb global warming p0llution if they so desire, and unfortunately the American Power Act preempts many state actions. Please rest assured that I will keep your thoughts in mind as the Senate debates our country’s energy future, and I will never stop fighting to protect New Jersey and our country from the effects of pollution and climate change.
Again, thank you for sharing your thoughts with me. This issue is very important to me and I appreciate your support. Please do not hesitate to contact me if I can be of further assistance. I invite you to visit my website http://menendez.senate.gove to learn more about how I am standing up for New Jersey families in the United States Senate.
Sincerely,
Robert Menendez
United States Senator