Today (7/24) four key Senate moderates -- Sens. Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) and John Warner (R-VA) introduced global warming legislation that is meant to limit the costs to the U.S. economy if Congress implements a cap-and-trade program to control heat-trapping emissions. The bill, not yet numbered, would track the prices for carbon dioxide in a new U.S. climate market and allow industries a flexible option if prices stay too high for too long.
The bill would create a new seven-member "Carbon Market Efficiency Board" that would have direct oversight of the system. The Board would operate similarly to the way the Federal Reserve monitors inflation, interest rates and the overall U.S. economy.
The bill would allow companies faced with mandatory pollution cuts to borrow (with interest) against their future requirements if the carbon price persists beyond Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates. If the borrowing does not work, more allowances would be temporarily released into the market, with the provision that future pollution requirements get tougher.
The bill is not a cap-and-trade bill, but is written to complement a climate change package like those currently under consideration. In fact, Sens. Warner and Joe Lieberman (I-CT) are putting the finishing touches on a bi-partisan cap-and-trade bill they expect to introduce before Congress breaks for the August recess.