Watch: Sen. Whitehouse: I hope Dept of Justice sues ‘vast climate denial apparatus’

Speaking to the League of Conservation Voters, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse expresses his want for the US Department of Justice to sue those that are skeptical of catastrophic anthropogenic global warming.
SENATOR SHELDON WHITEHOUSE: “But, this vast denial apparatus that propagates the false doubt, that props up the phony science, that gets these yahoos who can’t survive peer-reveed [sic], peer-reviewed scrutiny onto Fox News, onto the cable shows, saying that their scientists, they create an artificial conflict about this and that’s why I think there’s doubt.  A lot of people haven’t seen through the scam that’s being perpetrated. So that’s one of the reasons I hope that we get another lawsuit out of the Department of Justice, like the one they brought against the tobacco industry that showed that that whole fraudulent scam was a racketeering enterprise, held them accountable for it.”
LCV live stream interview
May 21, 2015

Senators Introduce Carbon Tax

Last week, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI) introduced the American Opportunity Carbon Fee Act. According to the Senators, this bill aims to address concerns regarding climate change, while simultaneously improving economic performance.  Specifically, this bill will impose a tax on carbon dioxide emissions.

 

This tax would be levied at $45/metric ton in 2016 and increase by 2% each year afterward. The tax is targeted at large emitters of greenhouse gases, such as methane, and companies that mine, extract, or import fossil fuels. Over the course of a decade, the Joint Committee on Taxation estimates the total revenue collected would surpass $2 trillion.

 

The senators plan to use the tax revenue in four ways. First, cut the marginal corporate income tax rate by 6%, from 35% to 29%. Second, provide workers with $500 refundable tax credit against their Social Security payroll tax. Third, increase Social Security, veterans, and disabled Americans benefits by $500, which would be adjusted for inflation going forward.  Lastly, the revenue would fund block grants to states to fund programs to help workers of impacted industries transition to new jobs.…