September 2009 Briefs

Rural Counties and Schools: Thanks to the efforts of a few dedicated board members of the National Rural Counties and Schools Coalition, funding for schools, counties and RAC’s is guaranteed for the next five years. But, the coalition isn’t resting on its laurels. They’ve begun working on securing funds for the future and are holding our elected officials to task regarding the health of national forests. Solutions for the future must include forest management.

Cap and Trade Update: Memorial Day is the target date set by Democrats Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Ed Markey (D-MA) for passage of a cap-and-trade bill that promises economic hardship for all. The Waxman-Markey “American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009″ (HR 2454) would raise taxes on American families by nearly $3,100 a year, lead to huge job losses, and dramatically raise the energy expenditures of American households. Under a cap-and-trade policy, companies would be forced to raise energy prices. This would unleash a series of adverse economic consequences and hardships for Americans, as numerous studies dictate. The Heritage Foundation’s Center for Data Analysis determined that Waxman-Markey would reduce aggregate GDP by $7.4 trillion, kill 844,000 jobs and raise the energy bill paid by a typical family by about $1,500 annually. A study by the National Association of Manufacturers projected that emissions caps, similar to those previously rejected by the U.S. Senate calling for a 63% cut in emissions by 2050, would reduce GDP by up to $269 billion and cost 850,000 jobs. A study conducted by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology determined the restrictions could raise gasoline prices by 29%, electricity prices by 55% and natural gas prices by 15% by 2015. A 2007 report by the Congressional Budget Office examining the costs of cutting carbon emissions just 15% noted that customers “would face persistently higher prices for products such as electricity and gasoline. Those price increases would be regressive in that poorer households would bear a larger burden relative to their income than wealthier households would.” The National Center for Public Policy Research is a free-market communications and research foundation established in 1982 and located on Capitol Hill.

Congress to Seize US Waters: A supposed Wetlands Bill is being worked on in Congress. It is called the Clean Water Restoration Act (CWRA). The new Senate number is S787. The CWRA is bouncing around the House Committee. The real goal of the CWRA is to give the EPA control over all water and all watersheds. That means national land use controls as well as control over all private water and land. That’s because all land is in a watershed. Congress is considering expanding the jurisdiction of the Clean Water Act of 1972 to include all waters of the United States and not limit it to “navigable waters” as is currently the law under two Supreme Court Decisions, the Rapanos and SWANCC Supreme Court Decisions of 2006 and 2001. Congress is also considering expanding Clean Water Act jurisdiction to include all “activities affecting these waters.” In other words, the bill is a double whammy: It expands the definition of waters and gives the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Corps of Engineers (Corps) and other Federal agencies control over activities that affect waters—any land use activities.