On May 28, Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA), a close ally of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), released a new global warming bill that calls for cuts in greenhouse gases which exceed those of the Senate's revised Lieberman-Warner bill, S. 3036. Markey intends to formally introduce his bill this week. The bill, called the "Investing in Climate Action and Protection Act" or "iCap," would cut carbon dioxide emissions by 85 percent by 2050, through an economy-wide, "cap-auction-and-trade" system that would start in 2012. It would set up an auction system of allowances, beginning with 94 percent in 2012 and transitioning to a 100 percent auction by 2020.
When speaking recently at the Center for American Progress, Markey said that the bill was the culmination of what he has learned as the chairman of the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming. As chairman of that committee, which has no legislative authority, Markey has held over 40 hearings since January 2007.
To view the bill and other iCap documents, go to: http://markey.house.gov/