At a press conference at the National Press Club, Rep. Carlos Curbelo unveiled his long-awaited carbon tax bill. The Modernizing America with Rebuilding to Kick-Start the Economy of the Twenty-first Century with a Historic Infrastructure-Centered Expansion (MARKET CHOICE) Act will be introduced later today, with co-sponsors to be named at that time.
“I will not be the only co-sponsor,” Curbelo assured the audience, while declining to name those supporters.
Curbelo’s plan would send 70 percent of the money raised by a $24/ton carbon tax to the Highway Trust Fund, with 10 percent going to grants for low-income households and five percent going to flood-mitigation projects. “We wanted to make it as fair as possible and that’s why we repeal the gas tax,” he said, describing his bill as a “sober solution” to address some of the nation’s greatest challenges. “This is not about punishing consumers or punishing producers, it’s about making sure that we can hand off a clean, healthy planet to future generations while being sensitive to economic realities.” The bill would propel the U.S. to exceed the greenhouse gas reduction commitments made under the Paris Climate Agreement while making “robust investment” in the nation’s transportation sector, and putting a moratorium on EPA greenhouse gas regulations. “The risks of not achieving our clean energy goals now is too high,” he said, pointing to the impacts experienced particularly by those living in coastal communities.
“The time to act is now.”
Stay tuned for those co-sponsor names!