Waxman: Clean Energy Solution to Federal Deficit

Beware of the policymaker with all the answers. S/he won't fly given the makeup of the present Congress. Particularly on environmental issues. Particularly when she is up against deniers who want to cut taxes and entitlements for the sake of the deficit.

Indeed, increasing the debt limit is a looming issue, said Congressman Henry Waxman (D-CA) today at the Center for American Progress (CAP) in Washington, DC. Supporting him was a Republican Congressman, currently retired but always supportive on cleaning up the environment, Wayne Gilchrest (R-MD).

Neither dignitary had all of the answers. But they, along with Congressman Edward J. Markey (D-MA) and former Congressman Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY) are working on legislation to address two exigent issues: the behemoth and growing deficit and climate change.

Solutions to the deficit crisis championed by Republicans include lowering taxes on the rich and drawing on entitlement funds. Waxman and Markey have a new idea: reduce the deficit while addressing climate change, despite the deniers.

Two previous efforts to solve the budget problem failed - a fiscal bargain and then supercommittee discussions.

Waxman and Markey propose, in lieu of energy credits for environmentally friendly industries, charging a price for carrbon emissions, a pollution tax. This policy would move us from dependence on carbon fuels, challenging policymakers and other stakeholders to steer this country toward clean energy solutions, to catch up with China's rapid growth in this area (with the world's greatest quantity of solar panels) and with Europe, which already has a tax ons carbon consumption.