We are encouraged to see two leaders on climate change taking this
important step to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The bill from Senators
Lieberman and Warner is a significant step forward in climate-change
policy. It falls short, however, of meeting the crucial goal of protecting
the lowest-income Americans from the effects of higher energy prices.
While Senators Lieberman and Warner clearly intend to provide assistance to
low-income consumers who face higher energy prices, the bill lacks an adequate
mechanism to do so. The bill sets aside some resources for this purpose. But it
relies on a hodgepodge of approaches including utility company subsidies, funds
to states without clear direction on how to use them, and a small program (LIHEAP)
that reaches only a small number of poor households. Instead, Congress should
provide a climate change rebate (using established delivery mechanisms) along
with targeted tax relief through the Earned Income Tax Credit. That would
protect millions of low-income Americans from higher energy costs, avoid missing
large segments of the low-income population, and avoid substantial
administrative costs.
The bill falls short in another important regard. It gives away at least 40
percent of the pollution permits to energy companies in the early years, rather
than using them as a resource to address public needs stemming from climate
change policies. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that affected
companies need less than 15 percent of the permits to compensate the
shareholders, so permit giveaways that exceed that level represent billions of
dollars of what CBO calls “windfall profits” to the companies.
As the bill moves forward, we strongly encourage the Senate to remedy these
flaws in this much-needed legislation, so that it avoids both increases in
poverty and hardship and unnecessary windfall profits for large energy
corporations.