Idaho Rep. Minnick says he'll vote no on Democrats' climate-change bill

WASHINGTON – Rep. Walt Minnick, D-Idaho, says he will vote no on the climate change bill being considered by the House of Representatives this afternoon.

Democrats are being heavily courted by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for their votes on one of President Barack Obama’s top legislative priorities. Pelosi even pressed into action former Vice President Al Gore, whose film about global warming, “An Inconvenient Truth,” led to a Nobel Prize. Gore, originally set to come to Washington to twist arms on the votes, instead stayed in Tennessee to work the telephone.

Most Republicans object to the bill, making every vote from Democrats valuable.

Minnick said he was uncomfortable with the legislation’s cap and trade provisions, which sets a limit on the amount of greenhouse gases that can be emitted. Emitters will need to seek permits for their emissions, and those who don’t have enough credits will have to either reduce emissions or buy credits from other emitters who’ve been able to reduce their own emissions.

Minnick said he had given it “several weeks of very serious consideration,” but didn’t think it would work.

“Cap and trade is not the best way to control greenhouse gas emissions, nor is it the right solution for Idaho,” he said. “It will raise prices, make it harder to invest, and is bad for business at a time when we must be focused on creating jobs.”

But he said nation should be working to reduce its carbon footprint.

“This is too important to get wrong,” Minnick said. “Our nation desperately needs a new approach to deal with the frightening consequences of a deteriorating atmosphere. But I believe there is a better way than cap and trade.”

Two recent reports by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Congressional Budget Office said costs to consumers would be minimal. The analysis by the EPA found that by 2020 the average household would pay 7 percent less for household energy because efficiency measures would reduce demand. The CBO said consumers could expect to see costs rise by $175 a year; poor households would save $40 a year.

Erika Bolstad: (202) 383-6104