Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Cap and Trade

I am approaching the end of the 1429 page Energy and Security Act of 2009 (Cap and Trade, or Cap and Tax) and ran across the portion below. Now I will be totally honest this is not the most frightening part, but I found this to be quite infuriating. Essentially this section describes how, since this bill is going to be a MASSIVE increase in energy costs to consumers, they are going to take from the haves and pay the utility bills of the "have nots". Yes you read that right. Of course there won't be ANY NEW TAXES on people earning less than $250k a year. RIGHT..wink wink.

‘SEC. 2201. ENERGY REFUND PROGRAM.

‘(a) In General- The Secretary shall formulate and administer the program provided for in this section, which shall be known as the ‘Energy Refund Program’, and under which eligible low-income households are provided cash payments to reimburse the households for the estimated loss in their purchasing power resulting from the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

‘(b) Entitlement of Eligible Households to Cash Payments- At the request of the State agency of a State, each eligible low-income household in the State shall be entitled to receive monthly cash payments under this section in an amount equal to the monthly energy refund amount determined under subsection (d).CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

‘(c) Eligibility-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

‘(1) ELIGIBLE HOUSEHOLDS- A household shall be considered to be an eligible low-income household for purposes of this section if--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

‘(A) the gross income of the household does not exceed the greater of--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

‘(i) 150 percent of the poverty line; orCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

‘(ii) the greatest amount of household gross income in respect of which a benefit could be payable under subsection (d)(2)(B);CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

‘(B) the State agency of the State in which the household is located determines that the household is participating in--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

‘(i) the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program authorized by the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.);CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

‘(ii) the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations authorized by section 4(b) of such Act (7 U.S.C. 2013(b)); orCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

‘(iii) the program for nutrition assistance in Puerto Rico or American Samoa under section 19 of such Act (7 U.S.C. 2028);CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

‘(C) the household consists of a single individual or a married couple, and--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

‘(i) receives the subsidy described in section 1860D-14 of this Act (42 U.S.C. 1395w-114); orCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

‘(ii)(I) participates in the program under title XVIII of this Act; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

‘(II) meets the income requirements described in section 1860D-14(a)(1) or (a)(2) of this Act (42 U.S.C. 1395w-114(a)(1) or (a)(2)); orCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

‘(D) the household consists of a single individual or a married couple, and receives benefits under the supplemental security income program under title XVI of this Act (42 U.S.C. 1381-1383f).CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

‘(2) STREAMLINED PARTICIPATION FOR CERTAIN BENEFICIARIES- The Secretary shall--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

‘(A) periodically estimate the number of eligible beneficiaries and households, and the number of participating beneficiaries and households, for the Energy Refund Program; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

‘(B) develop procedures, in consultation with the Commissioner of Social Security, the Railroad Retirement Board, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and the State agencies, to ensure that low-income beneficiaries of the benefit programs administered by such entities receive the energy refund for which the beneficiaries are eligible under the Energy Refund Program.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

‘(3) LIMITATION- Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary shall provide refunds to United States citizens, United States nationals, and individuals lawfully residing in the United States who qualify for a refund under paragraph (1)(A), and shall establish procedures to ensure that other individuals do not receive refunds.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

‘(4) NATIONAL STANDARDS- The Secretary shall consult with the Secretary of Agriculture and establish uniform national standards of eligibility ensuring that States may seamlessly co-administer the energy refund program with the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in accordance with the provisions of this section. No State agency shall impose any other standard or requirement as a condition of eligibility or refund receipt under the program. Assistance in the Energy Refund Program shall be furnished promptly to all eligible households who make application for such participation or are already enrolled in any program referred to in paragraph (1).CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

‘(d) Monthly Energy Refund Amount-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

‘(1) ESTIMATED ANNUAL TOTAL LOSS IN PURCHASING POWER- Not later than August 31 of each fiscal year, the Energy Information Administration shall estimate the annual total loss in purchasing power that will result from American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 in the next fiscal year for households of each size with gross income equal to 150 percent of the poverty line, based on the projected total market value of all compliance costs (including, but not limited to, the emissions allowances used to demonstrate compliance with title VII of the Clean Air Act in the next fiscal year, and excluding costs that are not projected to be incurred by households as a result of allowances freely allocated and intended for residential consumer assistance pursuant to sections 783 through 785 of the Clean Air Act), in a way generally recognized as suitable by experts.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

‘(2) MONTHLY ENERGY REFUND- The monthly energy refund amount for an eligible household under this section shall be--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

‘(A) if the gross income of the household does not exceed 150 percent of the poverty line applicable to the household--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

‘(i) if the household has 1, 2, 3, or 4 members, 1/12 of the amount estimated under paragraph (1) for a household of the same size, rounded to the nearest whole dollar amount; orCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

‘(ii) if the household has 5 or more members, 1/12 of the arithmetic mean value of the amounts estimated under paragraph (1) for households with 5 or more members, rounded to the nearest whole dollar amount; orCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

‘(B) if the gross income of the household exceeds 150 percent of the poverty line applicable to the household, 1/12 of the amount (if any) by which--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

‘(i) the amount estimated under paragraph (1) for a household of the same size; exceedsCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

‘(ii) 20 percent of the amount by which the gross income of the household exceeds 150 percent of the poverty line.

No comments:

Post a Comment