Cap-and-Trade: House Vote

On June 26, 2009, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 2454, the Waxman-Markey energy tax bill, which was built around a cap-and-trade program. The bill passed by a narrow seven-vote margin, despite significant bipartisan opposition. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office reported the bill would grow government by $864 billion.

The Waxman-Markey process was heavily criticized for vote buying, backroom deals and special interest carve outs. The bill purported to go after the largest emitters of greenhouse gases, but gave massive government handouts—in the form of free emission permits—to refiners, utilities and ethanol producers. Billions of dollars were earmarked for pet projects to buy votes during the final rush to drag the energy tax bill over the finish line.