TSA Office Inspection Accountability Act of 2015

Floor Speech

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Mr. SCHATZ. Madam President, last Friday, China announced its decision to implement a national cap-and-trade program beginning in 2017. It will cover the majority of China's greenhouse gas emissions, including those from power generation, iron and steel production, cement, chemicals, and manufacturing. In creating the world's largest market-based program that puts a price on carbon pollution, China is showing that it knows that climate change and economic growth can be addressed at the same time.

China stepped up on climate finance as well, matching the United States' contribution to the Green Climate Fund. China's announcement directly counters the arguments made by opponents of climate action here at home. The original idea was that essentially we should wait for China, that our actions would not make a difference without China, or worse, that we would be harming our own economic growth while they kept burning fossil fuels.

That argument, originally--that idea that on the challenge of our generation we should wait for other countries--was ridiculous on its face. After all, the United States must always lead. We are the indispensable Nation regardless of what the other countries may or may not be doing. But even if you subscribe to that argument, everything changed last week. The world is taking action around us. We are now at risk of being left behind, both in terms of our energy systems and our international standing.

China's recent announcement to peak its coal use, reduce emissions from superpollutants, and now its decision to implement a cap-and-trade program throw the old arguments out the window.

Those who oppose climate action have also said that addressing climate change would slow economic growth. Of course, we have known for years that this is not true. Consider the plummeting cost of clean energy or savings at the pump due to higher fuel economy standards, both of which are good for consumers and good for the climate. Now we have further confirmation that countries can reduce emissions without sacrificing economic growth.

China obviously has no interest in putting the brakes on its growth. By including in its cap-and-trade program many sectors that are vital to its future growth, China is showing the United States and the rest of the world that it means business. China does not have a monopoly on ideas to reduce carbon pollution. In fact, most of their good ideas are still coming from us. The Senate has a long history of proposing market-based solutions to climate change, dating back to the 2003 Climate Stewardship Act from Senators MCCAIN and LIEBERMAN.

Earlier this year, Senator Whitehouse and I reintroduced our American Opportunity Carbon Fee Act. Our bill would impose a price on carbon pollution and use the revenues to cut a $500 check for all Americans, while lowering the corporate income tax rate from 35 percent to 29 percent. Economists from across the political spectrum agree this is good policy.

Putting a price on carbon in a revenue-neutral way will provide numerous benefits above and beyond the significant cuts in carbon pollution. It will give companies the policy certainty that they need, and it will send a price signal to polluters. By using revenues to lower tax rates and provide dividends to every American, we can
stimulate economic growth and protect the most vulnerable among us.

Carbon pollution entails costs, but right now taxpayers are footing the bill. By making polluters responsible for the damage they cause and returning all of the revenues to individuals and employers, we will send a signal that innovation in clean energy and other low-carbon technologies will be the driving force behind the global economy of the 21st century.

The United States should not cede leadership in those sectors to China, Germany or any other country. We always lead. It is what Americans do best. American ingenuity led to some of the most exciting developments in the last century--from the airplane and the assembly line to the microprocessors and solar cells. With the right policies, we can assure American leadership for the next century as well.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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