Washington, DC – Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), a senior member of the Environment and Public Works Committee and a champion of carbon fee legislation in the Senate, released the following statement on the carbon pricing proposal released today by U.S. Representatives Ted Deutch (D-FL), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Tom Rooney (R-FL), John Delaney (D-MD), and Charlie Crist (D-FL):
“The introduction of this bipartisan legislation is an important step. 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. It could also make the economy more efficient, lower our 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.”
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