Democrats in Congress aren’t giving up going after the oil and gas industry over climate change. Now a large group of them want to force the fossil fuel industry to pay for it.
They unveiled a bill to allow the Treasury Department to tax major oil companies that are owned or operated in the U.S. The tax revenue, according to a report in The Hill, would create a $1 trillion fund. Companies would have to pay based on their share of planet-warming emissions. The money would be used to clean up pollution and give assistance after disasters associated with climate-change.
Sen. Chris Van Hallen, a Maryland Democrat and the bill’s Senate sponsored issued a statement, saying, “After fueling the climate crisis for decades, big polluters can no longer run from their responsibility to address the harm they have done.”
In announcing the bill, Sen. Van Hallen called it legislation against “the biggest polluters” to begin paying their fair share to confront the climate crisis. The bill, officially known as the Polluters Pay Climate Fund Act, would not only target U.S. fossil fuel industry firms but foreign-owned companies doing business in the country.
“From sweltering heat waves to rising sea levels to ever more intense storms, our planet is screaming out every day for us to take action on global warming. And after fueling the climate crisis for decades, big polluters can no longer run from their responsibility to address the harm they have done,” added Van Hollen.
Rep. Jerrold Nadler claimed the industry has done little to nothing to address what he called the “harmful effects their practices have had on the environment and public health.
“Instead, American taxpayers have been unfairly burdened with the costs of mitigating the destructive effects of the climate crisis. It is long past time for our nation to prioritize the health and well-being of our communities over the interests of the fossil fuel industry.”
For now, the legislation will likely be defeated in the House because Republicans are in the majority. But there’s speculation the bill or at least its subject of taxing major oil and gas firms over climate change would be a Democratic talking point as we approach the election in November.
It wouldn’t be a breeze in the Senate either because of the upper chamber’s 60-vote threshold to avoid a filibuster.
The bill would also likely face an uphill battle under almost any Senate composition given the upper chamber’s 60-vote threshold for avoiding a filibuster.