Imagine a solution to the climate challenge that also benefits the economy. This occurs when a carbon fee is applied to fossil fuels and all the resulting revenue is returned equally to U.S. households. This approach was recently endorsed in the Wall Street Journal by the world’s leading economists including Nobel Laureates, former chairs of the Federal Reserve and other notables.
You might ask, Can we constrain the government from keeping the carbon fee revenue instead of distributing it to citizens?
The authors in Congress of the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act of 2019, H.R. 763 took this concern into consideration as they developed this bill that is gaining wide support. They built-in safeguards like those found in the U.S. Social Security system. Many Floridians receive a monthly check with little concern that the Treasury is going to divert money from the Trust or stop payments. Using this model also answers the question, Can the government do this kind of distribution efficiently? The administrative cost of Social Security is less than 2 percent.
This groundbreaking bipartisan climate solution to price carbon will give revenue to households and bring greenhouse gas emission down 90 percent by 2050. This bill has gotten a remarkable 55 cosponsors in the House so far. Lead sponsors of this legislation include Rep. Francis Rooney (R-FL19) and Rep. Ted Deutch (D-FL22). Please go to https://energyinnovationact.org to learn more.
You can exercise your own political will to preserve a livable world for our children and grandchildren by asking your congressman, Rep. Daniel Webster (R-FL11) to become a cosponsor of this bipartisan bill, H.R.763. Mr. Webster’s phone is (202) 225-1002, his email is: https://webster.house.gov/email-me .
Steve Hendrickson is a resident of the Village of Mallory Square.
