SENATOR COLLINS "GREENEST REPUBLICAN" IN SENATE
In a statement, REP President Rob Sisson praised both Senators Collins and Olympia Snowe, who scored 90 in the scorecard.
"Senators Collins and Snowe have consistently been the strongest environmental champions in the Senate's GOP caucus. Last year was no exception, and we are very proud of the powerful leadership that Maine's senators have demonstrated on critical energy and climate issues facing America," Sisson said.
"Maine's future and our economy depend on clean air, clean water, and clean energy, and I will continue to work to help ensure a cleaner future for us all," said Senator Collins. "I appreciate this recognition of my commitment to a clean environment and a clean energy future."
Senator Collins, along with Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) is cosponsor of the Carbon Limits and Energy for America's Renewal (CLEAR) Act, the only clean energy and climate legislation under consideration in the Senate with bipartisan support. Their bill, introduced last December, is a cap-and-dividend proposal that would spur job growth in clean energy technology, and return money directly to consumers.
The Cantwell-Collins 39-page bill, S.2877, is a simple, transparent way to gradually shift our nation away from fossil fuels by:
- Establishing a predictable price on the carbon embedded in fossil fuels, providing the business incentive needed to develop and deploy clean energy technology
- Requiring fossil fuel producers and importers to bid at auction for "carbon shares", or permits, for every ton of fossil carbon sold into the U.S. economy
- Regulates where it is most manageable - 'upstream' where it is produced by a few thousand entities, as opposed to downstream where it is emitted by tens of thousands
- Reduces greenhouse gas emissions 20 percent by 2020 and 83 percent by 2050 (over 2005 levels), and
- Provides fairness to consumers through monthly dividends which makes all low and middle income families whole.
CLEAR would set up a mechanism for selling "carbon shares" to fuel producers and would return 75 percent of the resulting revenue in checks to every American. This dividend would more than compensate for the increase in carbon-based fuel that producers would pass on to consumers. A typical family of four would receive tax-free monthly checks from the government averaging $1,100 per year, or $21,000 between 2012 and 2030. The remaining 25 percent would be invested in clean energy research and development.
For more background information on the CLEAR Act, CLICK HERE.
