09.30.09

Sen. Murkowski’s Comments on Boxer-Kerry Cap-and-Trade Bill

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today made the following comments on the introduction of the Boxer-Kerry cap-and-trade bill:

“Right now health care reform is taking center stage, the Senate Finance Committee is marking up the bill and rejecting the massive costs associated with it, yet the Boxer-Kerry climate bill is like déjà vu when we look at how much it costs,” Murkowski said. “Once again we are given a massive bill with massive costs.”

“We must determine how to balance environmental progress with economic growth,” Murkowski said. “Our economy is already struggling, now is not the time to enact a bill that impose financial burdens that extent of which we don’t know for sure.”

“After spending 8 months working on this bill, what is most striking about it is what isn’t in it - the lack of detail and the many placeholders,” Murkowski said.

“We’ve got to be honest with ourselves if we are truly going to decrease emissions,” Murkowski said. “Nuclear energy must be a part of our energy mix if we are going to do so.”

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