Comparison of House and Senate Cap and Trade Legislation

Tom Boggs has passed to me, and I present for your consideration, the Congressional Research Service's side-by-side comparison of the House and Senate cap and trade bills. You can see it here.

I would say that cap and trade will never pass, given the real costs and the illusory benefits, but keep in mind that EPA has made the finding that carbon dioxide is a criteria pollutant. That triggers requirements for development of control technology for greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane. At this point, EPA is only proposing to take action with regard to the largest sources of CO2, but that is a questionable move under the Clean Air Act. Truth be told, EPA would probably be only too glad to be required by a friendly lawsuit to begin regulation of smaller sources. Before that happens, though, there will be intense pressure on congressional Republicans to sign onto some form of legislation limiting CO2, if only to avoid more stringent restrictions that would otherwise go into effect.