01/26/09 Lawmakers voicing opposition to cap and trade

Washington Ag January 26, 2009 Some eastern Washington House members were voicing their opposition to cap and trade legislation last week before Governor Gregoire had even made her proposal. The idea is to cap the amount of carbon that may be emitted by various activities. A company that doesn't use all its emission allowances could trade them. There also might be opportunities for agriculture and forestry to derive revenue from the sale of carbon credits Representative Joe Schmick, Republican of Colfax called cap and trade "slash and burn" saying more jobs would be lost from the legislation. Republican Representative Larry Haler of Richland called cap and trade "cap and tax." Republican Representative Shelly Short of Addy also issued a news release voicing her opposition to quote "fanatical cap and trade." Cap and trade did come up at a House and Natural Resources Committee hearing last week where Dan Coyne represented the Northwest Food Processors Association. Coyne: "We are here before you today in opposition to cap and trade legislation the way it exists today. We think a federal approach would be much preferable to a state-by-state approach on cap and trade. We recognize the need to deal with the issues related to carbon but on a state-by-state basis we think it has the potential of putting us at a disadvantage because we operate in a world wide marketplace." Coyne said while a regional program might work in some circumstances the preference is for a federal program. I'm Bob Hoff and that's Washington Ag Today on the Northwest Ag Information Network.