Freedom Of Information Pillories Cap And Trade

Two short memos just made public under the federal Freedom of Information Act are being touted by cap and trade opponents as backing their argument that the proposed legislation will severely damage the energy sector of the American economy. A one page internal Treasury Department memo written last March estimates the cost of cap and trade at between $100 billion and $200 billion a year. That sum would amount to an energy use tax of $1,761 per American household annually, according to the second document, a brief prepared by last winter's presidential transition team. A chief opponent of cap and trade, Senator Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, remarked, "The current administration claims to be the most transparent in American history, yet it's been hiding a report showing its cap and trade energy plan would cost up to $200 billion every year." The Obama administration's Treasury Department officials counter that their own memo ignores the present proposal to return emission permit revenue to consumers.