Less than two weeks after voting in favor of the American Clean Energy and Security Act, Rep. Rick Boucher (D-VA-9th District) defended his vote Tuesday. The commonly called "Cap and Trade Bill" narrowly passed the U.S. House of Representatives last month. Senate debate is expected in the fall. Boucher is one of 219 representatives who voted in favor of the legislation.
Proponents claim the act will reduce emissions of green house gases, increase the country's use of green power, and decrease dependence on foreign oil. Opponents say it will dramatically drive up the price of everything from gasoline to electricity to the cost of selling your home. Some also fear it will cost millions of jobs. However, Boucher says there is minimal cost when it comes to the legislation.
"The cost of this program when it is fully implemented in the middle years of the next decade would be less than the cost of a postage stamp per day for the typical American family," Boucher said.
Boucher also says the bill he endorsed won't eliminate a single job.
"There will be no job loss as a consequence of this legislation," Boucher said. "As a matter of fact, when this measure is signed into law, it will be a job creator."
In addition to the creation of millions of green jobs, Boucher says the coal market will grow too.
"According to the Environmental Protection Agency, coal use will be greater under this bill in 2020 than it is at the present time," Boucher said.
Those expectations are to hard to believe for some. Alpha Natural Resources will soon become the third largest coal producing company in the United States. Located in Boucher's backyard of Abingdon, Virginia, the company admits it still has its concerns about the energy bill.
"With what Congressman Boucher was able to get changed in the original proposal out of the House, it's much more acceptable to the industry than it would have been," Alpha Natural Resources Chairman and CEO Mike Quillen said.
Despite that praise, Quillen says the legislation still remains unacceptable.
"We are very concerned that there could be significant job losses in the coal industry," he said.
That is especially concerning for Alpha Natural Resources and its 6,500 employees (1,200 of those employees are in Southwest Virginia). Quillen says his employees have already shared their fears. As it stands right now, Quillen doubts the coal industry can reduce emissions without reducing coal production, meaning people will lose their jobs.
"Our analysis is there's probably going to be about 2.2 jobs lost for every 'green' job created," Quillen said.
Still even with those concerns, Boucher insists coal miners have nothing to worry about.
"There will be no job loss associated with this measure," Boucher said.
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