Senator Christopher “Kit” Bond is lashing out, again, at cap-and-trade legislation which is making its way through Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.  The cap-and-trade legislation is designed to cut carbon emissions.  But Bond fears any cap and trade bill that clears Congress would result in higher electricity bills for Missourians because much of our power comes from coal.

“The Congressional Budget Office – Doug Elmendorf – has pointed out that when you increase costs of producers of energy they have to pass that along, dollar for dollar, in the prices they charge,” said Bond during his weekly conference call with Missouri radio reporters.

Bond points to warnings that Missouri electricity rates would go up 26 percent starting in 2012 to 42 percent as soon as 2020.  Asked to comment on a CNN /Opinion Research Corporation survey suggesting most Americans favor cap-and-trade legislation, Bond said people don’t want to pay higher costs for electricity.

“You ask people if they want to reduce carbon emissions – sure, all of us want to reduce carbon emissions – it’s like asking people if you want a free lunch,” said Bond.  “But when you ask them how much are you willing to pay to reduce carbon emissions the results are drastically different.  The most recent Rasmussen poll said a majority of the people (56 percent) did not want to pay a single penny to fight global warming.”

During a Wednesday hearing of the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on the Kerry-Boxer bill – the Senate version of cap-and-trade legislation, Bond displayed tens of thousands of cards and letters from rural Missourians who are concerned about the affordability of their electricity bills.  He firmly believes the solution to North America’s energy problems is to use existing resources in an environmentally friendly way.

“Add a hundred new nuclear power plants, use electric-powered vehicles, conserve more energy and we could add jobs, produce more tax revenues, and avoid expending very expensive taxpayer subsidies on things like wind and solar which only work when the wind blows and the sun shines.”

While the Senate version of cap-and-trade legislation remains in committee, the House version has already been passed by that chamber.

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