The Waxman-Markey Bill is known by many names.  It is also known as “Cap and Trade” or “Cap and Tax”, HR2454, or affectionately termed ACES, the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009.  By any other name the rose is still as sweet!!

It has been called the most devastating single piece of legislation passed by the House of Representatives for over 50 years. And now, with the backdrop of “Climategate” and the realization that much of the “global warming” or “climate change” research has been faulty at best, and perhaps even criminal in its intent, this 1,428 page legislation should be discarded.  But as I read and research more, some believe that the regulatory power of the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) can implement many of these proposed policies without Congressional approval or oversight!!!

This bill was passed by the House of Representatives on June 26, 2009 by a vote of 219 to 212.  If you remember, a several hundred page amendment was attached to it in the wee hours of the morning prior to the House vote.  Many members of Congress had not read it in its entirety.   But Speaker Pelosi called for the vote, and vote they did!

President Obama recently returned from Copenhagen for the United Nations climate conference where his administration pitched the Cap and Trade bill to the world and offered millions of U.S. dollars to underdeveloped countries to encourage clean energy development. The source of the funding for these identified nations has not been disclosed!  India and China will continue to build coal fired plants (at the rate of more than one per week in China – 72 last year alone) with limited “clean” mechanisms.

There are five sections to this bill.

Title I – Clean Energy includes a renewable energy standard, regulations for carbon capture and sequestration, performance standards for coal-fired power plants, transportation fuels and electric cars.

Title II – Energy Efficiency would mandate a national building code and energy efficiency standards for buildings, appliances, transportation, and industry.

Title III – Reducing Global Warming Pollution focuses on a national cap-and-trade scheme where carbon credits are traded internationally with the intent of reducing Green House Gas emissions – thereby raising the cost of energy for everyone, including the price of all goods manufactured and transported.

Title IV – Transitioning to a Clean Energy Economy discusses how the federal government will be “rewarding” and “protecting” those most affected by the new rules – it sounds like another tax to me!

Title V – Offsets from Domestic Forestry and Agriculture which will establish regulations and requirements for farming practices across the nation, including green house gas emissions, sequestration, and “international land use changes!”

This brief will discuss #2 and its impact on the construction and housing industries.  A similar brief will address #5, forestry and agriculture.

Subtitle A – “Building Energy Efficiency Program” and Subtitle B- “Lighting and Appliance Energy Efficiency Programs” are the most disturbing for anyone who builds residential or commercial buildings or anyone involved in the housing market.

1. This bill contains 397 new regulations for this industry.
2. National energy efficiency building codes will be established that supersede any state or local regulations.
3. The Secretary of Energy will be responsible for establishing these codes and for the enforcement of them.
4. States must meet or exceed these codes in order to receive any federal funding for local projects, low-cost housing projects, any cost-share initiatives.
5. Upon passage of this law, the Secretary of Energy will establish the “base line” code  -
   1. For residential buildings, the 2006 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC)
   2. For commercial building, the code published in ASHRAE Standard 90-1-2004
   3. Each national energy efficiency building code established by the Secretary will be set at the maximum level that the Secretary determines is “life cycle cost-justified and technically feasible.”  (The Secretary can also lower the standards, but I think that would be highly unlikely!)
   4. Immediately after passage, all new construction must meet an increased 30% energy efficiency rating.  By Jan. 2014 (residential), 2015 for commercial, all new construction must meet a 50% reduction in energy use.  Effective 2016, 2017 for commercial, and every three years after, until 2030, an additional 5% reduction in energy use will be mandated.  That computes to an almost 70% reduction in 20 years!
   5. Homes for sale would have to undergo an environmental inspection.  The “state” will be empowered to inspect your home and require environmental upgrades to efficiency standards if you want to sell your house, renovate your house, or change the name of the person responsible for any utility bill.  (You won’t even be able to give it away!)
      1. Home prices will go down
      2. Closing home sales will be much more difficult
      3. Expenses for sellers will increase dramatically
      4. Manufactured homes would have to meet Energy Star qualifications.  Manufactured homes constructed prior to 1976 would have to be replaced.  (With a government provided rebate, everyone will get a new home! – We know that won’t happen, and if it does, you know who will pay for it.)

10. Section 205 discusses the tree planting programs.  The government will help you choose the trees and shrubs that you should plant and where they should be placed for best energy efficiency.  That, of course, would depend on the terrain and the climate.  Local government agencies will also be encouraged to “suggest” and enforce vegetation types and locations.

11. Installation of solar energy systems will be protected.  No ordinances, zoning codes, or covenants can prohibit or restrict them.

12. All applications of lighting are subject to standards.  The only exceptions are those used for emergencies, swimming pools and water features, holiday lighting, and candelabra. (The bill will be the death knell for all incandescent lighting and plasma screen television sets.)

13. All appliances in the residential setting must be approved by the Secretary of Energy, from the heating and air conditioning units, the major appliances, all the way down to the water dispensers, the hot food holding cabinets, and the portable electric spa! This would eventually lead to the government control of the manufacturing of these items.  The government would pick the winners and losers – not the consumer.

14. The act also discusses HUD programs and rural housing (which, of course, will be regulated by the Secretary of Agriculture, who never lived on a farm!).

We must continue to watch this legislation as it continues to wind its way through committees and debate.  Let your legislators know how devastating this will be to your industry.  The Heritage Foundation estimates that job losses in the industry over the 2012 – 2035 timeline would affect us significantly:

• Construction – more than 1 million jobs lost
• Manufacturing – 400,00 jobs lost
• Transportation Equipment Sector – more than 78,000 jobs lost
• Machinery – mare than 81,000 jobs lost
• Paper, Plastics, and Rubber – more than 23,000 jobs lost
• Electrical Equipment and Appliances – 23,000 jobs lost

We are a strong nation and a strong-willed people.  If change is to be made, we must be the ones driving it.  A strong market-driven initiative will bring about the energy efficiencies that will be necessary. We all believe in preserving our environment! Producers and consumers can take the reins of capitalism and the free-market system and continue to drive the industry of the greatest nation in the world.  We are those “innovative Americans” that others from around the globe have heralded.  We must not rest!

If you have questions or comments, please contact me at sueboldra@gmail.com or through my website at www.sueboldra.com.

I welcome your support in investing in the future of Kansas.  It is only through common sense and a return to Constitutional principles that we can secure a conduit to liberty and a renewed vision of the American Dream.

Sue Boldra
Candidate for U.S. Congress
Kansas 1st district