SENATORS COLLINS, CANTWELL DISCUSS CLEAN ENERGY BILL WITH PRESIDENT

Today, U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Maria Cantwell (D-WA) joined Senate colleagues in a White House meeting with President Barack Obama to discuss clean energy legislation. Collins and Cantwell are cosponsors of the Carbon Limits and Energy for America's Renewal (CLEAR) Act, the only legislation under consideration in the Senate with bipartisan support. The bill is a cap-and-dividend proposal that would spur job growth in clean energy technology, return money directly to consumers, and reduce carbon pollution.

Under discussion at the meeting was the urgency of going forward this year with legislation in light of the need to shift to a clean-energy economy - urgency underscored by the ongoing oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The President told the Senators he believes the best way to transition to a clean energy economy is a bill that puts a price on pollution, making clean energy the profitable kind of energy for America's businesses.

Senator Collins said; "To achieve success in the Senate, clean energy legislation must be bipartisan. Our bill positions the U.S. to be a leader in renewable energy and energy conservation technologies by placing predictable, straight-forward prices on carbon. It also helps protect consumers by returning 75 percent of revenues directly to American families and preventing speculation in the carbon market."

"Energy is a six-trillion dollar market opportunity, and green jobs can transform the U.S. economy," said Senator Cantwell. "The CLEAR Act provides a bipartisan solution that would spur our clean energy economy, while ending our dependence on foreign oil. Senator Collins' support demonstrates that a solution is possible, but we have a lot more work to do."

At the end of the meeting, the President said that there was a strong foundation, with a consensus on some key policies, and the President urged the Senators to come together based on that foundation. Additionally, there was some agreement on the need to move forward with clean energy legislation.

The Cantwell-Collins 39-page bill is a simple, transparent solution to our nation's energy needs. It would:
• Establish a predictable price on the carbon associated with fossil fuels, providing the business incentive needed to develop and deploy clean energy technology
• Require 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
• Regulate 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
• Achieve a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of 20 percent by 2020 and 83 percent by 2050, and
• Provide 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.