Congressman Henry Waxman to Introduce New Carbon Rationing Bill

At least that's the rumor. Hot on the heels of President Barack Obama's promise in his second inaugural speech on Monday to "respond to the threat of climate change," Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) are evidently going to introduce a new version of the cap-and-trade scheme (Waxman-Markey) that passed in the House of Representatives in 2009, but which failed to get through the Senate.

The folks over at the free-market oriented American Energy Alliance are preemptively responding. Thomas Pyle, head of the AEA sneered in press release:

"The president had much to say about climate change in his inaugural speech this week.  And while his Press Secretary made clear that the administration's efforts in this area will largely bypass Congress, Henry Waxman deserves some degree of commendation for his persistence, however out of touch he is with the real problems facing everyday Americans. The American Energy Alliance looks forward to reviewing the latest installment in the failed cap-and-trade saga, now ostensibly known as Waxman-Whitehouse. And like any effort to increase the cost of energy for American consumers -- whether legislative, executive, or regulatory -- we will be prepared to fight, though I suspect this effort will have one of the shortest shelf lives of any legislative proposal in modern history."

For an analysis of the earlier Waxman scheme, see my column, "Cap-and-Trade Delusions." Will follow up once the new bill is unveiled.