Sen. Whitehouse praises carbon tax measure

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) recently praised a bill designed to establish a national carbon tax, which would reduce greenhouse gas emissions at a lower cost.

Whitehouse, a senior member of the Environment and Public Works Committee, said the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act would enable proceeds from the carbon tax to be returned to Americans in the form of monthly rebate checks and represents the first bipartisan carbon pricing proposal in Congress in nearly a decade.

“The introduction of this bipartisan legislation is an important step,” Whitehouse said. “Virtually every serious economist who has considered the challenge of reducing emissions, from the right and left, agrees that setting a price on carbon is the most efficient solution. Indeed, the IPCC in its latest report said a carbon fee is one of the best tools we have to prevent catastrophic climate change.”

Whitehouse said the legislation, which was crafted by Reps. Ted Deutch (D-FL), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Tom Rooney (R-FL), John Delaney (D-MD) and Charlie Crist (D-FL), could also make the economy more efficient, lower dependence on foreign oil and decrease the long-term deficit.

“I hope that this bipartisan work in the House will prompt Republican colleagues here in the Senate to look at using the power of markets to solve this problem,” Whitehouse said.