By Bill Raack, St. Louis Public Radio
St. Louis, MO – U.S. Senator Kit Bond says he'll continue to fight cap and trade bills in Congress that he says will kill jobs and raise energy taxes.
Bond sat behind a stack of cards and letters at a committee hearing in Washington Wednesday that he says were sent in by customers of Missouri electric cooperatives opposed to higher power bills. Bond says polls show that most Americans don't want to pay more taxes to offset climate change.
"Missourians care about the environment but this massive tax proposal is not going to make any difference in the environment even if you accept all of the arguments of the cap and trade backers. Because without China and India going along, which they've told us they will not, it will make no appreciable difference in the foreseeable future," Bond said.
The Kerry-Boxer legislation would force utilities, refineries and other major polluters to reduce emissions that cause global warming. It would also channel billions of dollars to alternative energy sources.