Carbon Tax Could Replace Obama's Climate Rules, Democrat Says

Rep. John Delaney told an audience at a conservative think tank yesterday that he's drafting a bill to tax carbon that could lead to the repeal of President Obama's signature policy of regulating CO2 emissions at power plants.

"I think it would inevitably lead to that," the Maryland Democrat said.

Delaney made his Earth Day announcement at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative policy shop that has made splashes in Republican circles, not all of them welcome, by hosting discussions about taxing carbon.

The highest-profile of those, in 2012, were described by conservative critics as occurring in secret, leading to some speculation that AEI might be promoting the tax to replace revenue that would be lost by cutting income taxes.

Supporters see a carbon tax as one way to unlock broader tax reform.  The benefit?  Lots of cash, lower emissions and smaller taxes elsewhere.  Opponents see more taxes.

None of that has happened, but at the time, it prompted the National Review to ask of AEI, "What are they thinking?!"

Those early discussions, which featured AEI economists and others from Democratic-leaning groups, has led to a new book that's described as a key resource for lawmakers interested in pursuing a carbon tax.  It's named Implementing a U.S. Carbon Tax and was unveiled at the event yesterday.

The event's moderator, Aparna Mathur, a resident economist at AEI, described a carbon tax as arguably the most efficient way to address climate change.  It could also raise an estimated $1.2 trillion over 10 years, she said, potentially creating enough revenue to pay for other tax cuts.

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