waxman-markey bill: washington state fact sheet

8/14/2019 Waxman-Markey Bill: Washington State Fact Sheet

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The climate change bill under consideration by Congress ignores the impacts oneveryone who uses or produces petroleum fuels like gasoline, diesel and naturalgas. So it will hit both households and businesses hard – everyone who uses cars,trucks, planes, trains, and tractors or the thousands of products produced ortransported using these fuels. It will create an uneven playing field for U.S. refinerswho will lose market share and jobs to foreign competitors who do not have to limittheir own greenhouse gas emissions.

Higher prices: The bill will touch every family and every business that uses oil products

According to one government analysis, the bill will raise prices to $5.10 per gallon forgasoline and $5.60 per gallon for diesel fuel.1

Less disposable income: According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA),average household energy costs could increase as much as $1,870 in 2030. 1

That’s 5.3 percent of today’s average per capita disposable income.2

Fewer jobs and lower wages: EIA’s study, as well as those commissioned by theNational Black Chamber of Commerce, the National Manufacturers Association and the American Council for Capital Formation all reach the same conclusion about jobs – that as a consequence of this legislation, there will be more than 2 million fewer jobsin 2030, even with new green jobs created.3 One analysis expects the wages of workerswho remain employed to fall and for the loss to become greater over time.4 Anotheranalysis shows that the unbalanced approach of the bill by itself will produce additiona

unemployment, destroying more than 2 million jobs nationwide as soon as 2011.5

For Washington this could mean a loss of 35,922 jobs over the next couple of years.If those jobs were lost today, it would increase Washington’s unemployment rate from9.4 percent to 10.4 percent.6

Less wealth: One analysis projects the bill would reduce aggregate gross domesticproduct (GDP) by $9.4 trillion over the next 26 years.5 For Washington this couldmean a reduction of as much as $7 billion in our state’s gross state product (GSP)on average over this period.7

Less energy security: U.S. refiners will have to buy a disproportionate share of newallowances, increasing their costs and giving a competitive advantage to non-U.S.refiners. One analysis concludes that as a result of this legislation, fuel imports willdouble by 2030 from what they would have been.8 Contrary to the bill’s intention,America will be less energy secure.

Little environmental gain, big economic pain: Even the federal Government AccountabilityOffice (GAO) warns that cap and trade legislation could make American companies lessable to compete internationally and could drive American jobs overseas to countries that do not limit greenhouse gas emissions, thus driving up international emissionsenough to offset or overwhelm U.S. cuts.9

WashingtonThe people of

Learn more at API.org

will be hurt by the Waxman-Markey

Climate Bill.

1 U.S. Energy Information Administration, “Energy Market andEconomic Impacts of H.R. 2454, the American Clean Energy

and Security Act of 2009,” August 4, 2009.

2 API calculation based on U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysisdata.

3 EIA (August 2009); CRA International (August 2009); Science

Applications International Corporation, “Analysis of the Waxman-

Markey Bill ‘The American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009’ (H.R. 2454) Using the National Energy Modeling System

(NEMS/ACCF-NAM2),” prepared for the National Association of Manufacturers and the American Council for Capital Formation,

August 12, 2009.

4 CRA International, “Impact on the Economy of the AmericanClean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (H.R. 2454),” prepared

for the National Black Chamber of Commerce, August 2009.

5 The Heritage Foundation, “Son of Waxman-Markey: More Politics

Makes for a More Costly Bill,” edmemo no. 2450, May 18, 2009.Revised and updated June 16, 2009.

6 API calculations based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics state

data and The Heritage Foundation estimate of job losses from

“Impact of the Waxman-Markey’s Climate Change Legislationon the States,” webmemo #2585, August 19, 2009.

7 The Heritage Foundation, “Impact of the Waxman-MarkeyClimate Change Legislation on the States,” webmemo #2585,

August 19, 2009.

8 EnSys Energy, “Waxman-Markey (H.R. 2454) Refining Sector

Impact Assessment,” prepared for the API, August 21, 2009.

9 “Climate Change Trade Measures, Estimating Industry Effects,”

U.S. GAO testimony before the Committee on Finance, U.S.

Senate, July 8, 2009, pp5-6.



Source: EPA, “Energy CO2 Emissions by State” (www.epa.gov/climatechange/emissions/state_energyco2inv.html) as interpreted by API.

Those states with the highest emissions per dollar of

economic activity will face the greatest challenge to

reduce them.

Metric Tons of Emissions per $1 Million

in State Economic Activity

I Least: 48 – 500

I Most: 501 –2305

Learn more at API.org

waxman-markey bill: washington state fact sheet

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