It might be a lame-duck Congress, but bills, even environmental ones, are seeing life in Washington, D.C. The most high profile and controversial will be announced next week, when Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., plans to introduce carbon tax legislation.
He hasn't released the details, but in March Whitehouse said he
supports accessing a fee on carbon emissions and directing a portion of the
revenue to low-income groups. Studies on carbon taxes, he has said, show
that directing one-sixth of the tax revenue to low-wage earners is equitable.
“We’ve got to be sure that the money raised by a carbon fee goes back to people, so they’re not having money taken out of their pockets," he told ecoRI News in March. "It would be wrong to do it any other way."
Keystone XL. Rep. James Langevin,
D-R.I., and Rep. David Cicilline, D-R.I., voted against the Keystone pipeline
bill that the House approved on Nov. 14. Whitehouse and Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I.,
also oppose the project.
Here’s why Whitehouse thinks it’s bad:
“The Keystone pipeline isn’t any normal pipeline. It would transport Canadian tar sands oil, which is one of the dirtiest fuels on earth. It would only create about 35 permanent jobs — all while contributing to climate change and compromising the health of communities located near the pipeline and refineries processing the crude. Senator (Mary, D-LA) Landrieu’s bill would set a dangerous precedent by undermining the administration’s authority to ensure the project is in our national interest.”
Sunscreen. On Nov. 12, the House
passed Reed’s Sunscreen Innovation Act, sending the bill to President Obama to
be signed. The bill expedites the Food and Drug Administration’s review of new
sunscreen ingredients while giving them authority to reject unsafe ingredients.
The legislation was applauded by the health advocacy group the Environmental
Working Group.
Estuary money. On Nov. 12,
the House approved $27 million annually for the National Estuary Program. The
funds support 28 estuary programs, including the the Narragansett Bay
Estuary Program. Projects address such issues as seagrass loss,
reoccurring harmful algal blooms and jellyfish proliferation.
“The Narragansett Bay is an essential part of Rhode Island’s
economy and culture, and connects Rhode Islander’s with nature and the sea,”
Cicilline said.
In the Senate, Whitehouse sponsored a version of the bill that
passed out of the Committee on the Environment and Public Works earlier this
year. He hopes to get a vote on the bill before the end of this year.
The national estuary program has strong Rhode Island roots as it
was established in 1987 by the late-Sen. John Chafee.
Blackstone River Valley. In
September, the House Committee on Natural Resources approved Cicilline’s
bill to create the John H. Chafee Blackstone River Valley National
Historical Park. It would be a new part of the National Park System comprised
of sites in Rhode Island and Massachusetts.
The new park would include the Blackstone River and its tributaries, the Blackstone Canal, the non-contiguous historic districts of Old Slater Mill in Pawtucket, and the villages of Slatersville in North Smithfield and Ashton in Cumberland, and Whitinsville and Hopedale in Massachusetts. Langevin is a bill co-sponsor.
The new park would include the Blackstone River and its tributaries, the Blackstone Canal, the non-contiguous historic districts of Old Slater Mill in Pawtucket, and the villages of Slatersville in North Smithfield and Ashton in Cumberland, and Whitinsville and Hopedale in Massachusetts. Langevin is a bill co-sponsor.
The House has yet to vote on the bill.