| March 26, 2009 |  |
House Budget Committee Greenlights Climate Legislation
Statement by Liz Perera, Union of Concerned Scientists
WASHINGTON (March 26, 2009) — The House Budget Committee has approved a federal budget that includes a reserve fund for revenues from climate legislation. Experts at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) expect the Senate Budget Committee to follow suit shortly. This is a strong indication that lawmakers expect to pass climate legislation later this year, according to UCS.
Below is a statement by Liz Martin Perera, Washington representative for UCS's Climate Program:
"This reserve fund essentially gives Congress the green light to advance climate legislation. Now that the president has directed Congress to act on global warming and budget leaders have paved the way, Congress should move quickly.
"The process to enact comprehensive climate legislation is unfolding as we expected. The reserve fund tees up Congressman Henry Waxman's comprehensive cap-and-trade proposal, which he likely will unveil in the coming weeks. And that's just what we need. As President Obama has said, a cap-and-trade program will help drive economic growth and smooth the transition to a clean energy economy."
The Union of Concerned Scientists is the leading U.S. science-based nonprofit organization working for a healthy environment and a safer world. Founded in 1969, UCS is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and also has offices in Berkeley, Chicago and Washington, D.C.
