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House passes climate change legislation
June 29, 2009The U.S. House of Representatives passed cap-and-trade legislation on June 26 aimed to limit greenhouse gas emissions said to cause global warming. The final vote on the bill, formally called the American Clean Energy and Security Act, was 219-212. Eight Republicans crossed the aisle to support the legislation, while 44 Democrats voted to defeat it. Reps. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., and Ed Markey, D-Mass., sponsored the bill.p>
While the aggregates industry is a minor emitter of greenhouse gases, this legislation is projected to drive up energy costs to businesses and consumers without commensurate reductions in carbon emissions, according to the National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association.
The bill now moves to the Senate where Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., has ordered that chamber’s committees to finish their own version of climate change legislation by mid-September, with an eye on final passage by the end of the year. Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, expects to unveil a climate change bill in July and have the committee pass it before Congress leaves for its summer recess at the beginning of August.
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