Tipton, Mo.
Federal legislation aimed at reducing greenhouse gases has Co-Mo Electric Cooperative General Manager Ken Johnson worried about the high costs to Missouri consumers.
U.S. House of Representatives Democrats narrowly won a key test vote Saturday, June 27 on sweeping legislation that Republicans say would amount to the largest tax increase in American history. The vote was 217-205 - with 30 Democrats voting with all the Republicans - to advance the White House-backed legislation to the floor for debate.
Authored by U.S. representatives Henry Waxman, D-Calif., and Edward Markey, D-Mass., The American Clean Energy and Security Act (HR 2454) calls for charging electric utilities for greenhouse gas emissions, starting in 2012. The legislation would impose limits for the first time on carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas pollution from power plants, factories and refineries. Supporters and opponents agree the result would be higher energy costs.
President Barack Obama has made the measure a top priority of his first year in office. Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has pledged to get the legislation passed before lawmakers leave on their July 4 vacation.
The bill as it is being brought to the floor would disproportionately affect Midwestern states that rely more heavily on coal to produce electricity. The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association estimates Missouri rates could increase between 23 and 58 percent if the bill, which is more than 1,000 pages long, becomes law.
"Legislators aren't calling this a tax, but that's what it is," Co-Mo's GM Johnson said after today's vote. "And it's a tax that would hit the residents of Missouri and members of Co-Mo disproportionately, much more than the constituents of the bill's authors."
Missouri will be one of five states most affected by the legislation because of its high use of coal to generate electricity. Coastal states - where nuclear, wind, solar and hydropower plants are prevalent - will be affected least. Johnson said the bill amounts to a redistribution of wealth by taking money from the Midwest and sending it to the East and West Coasts. The Midwest is 75 percent coal-based, compared to 2 percent in California and 2 to 4 percent in Massachusetts. The Midwest also uses more electricity for heating and cooling because of hotter summers and colder winters.
Johnson urged those concerned with the direction of the bill to contact their elected representatives immediately.
"This isn't a done deal," he said. "As the vote showed, there is a lot of controversy about the direction of this bill, and our elected officials need to hear what the average Co-Mo member thinks about having their bill dramatically raised because of this."
