All but one House Republican voted Thursday to disapprove of the idea of a carbon tax, indicating that the GOP remains solidly opposed to carbon pricing, a policy favored by many economists and Democrats to address climate change.
Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), who has authored legislation to impose a carbon tax, was the sole Republican to vote no on the measure.
In total, House lawmakers voted 222 to 196 for a resolution disapproving of a carbon tax. The nonbinding measure, introduced by Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-MT), drew the support of 10 Democrats.
In 2018, six Republicans voted against a similar measure. The drop-off since then illustrates the shrinking support for carbon taxation within the GOP, although it is worth noting that House Republicans control fewer purple districts now than they did in 2018.
Carbon taxes have at times gained tentative support from Republicans, such as Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT). More recently, some in the GOP have toyed with the idea of a carbon tariff, which would impose duties on goods from abroad that are associated with high carbon emissions.
Several Republicans on the Environment and Public Works Committee voted earlier this year to advance a bill requiring the Energy Department to publish a study measuring U.S. carbon emissions of manufactured U.S. products versus products manufactured by competitors in China and elsewhere. Republican supporters, including Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), and John Boozman (R-AR), argued the information would give U.S. products a competitive edge and show they are cleaner than products manufactured by China and other adversaries.
Still, Thursday’s vote demonstrated entrenched opposition to carbon taxation among Republicans and that the concept faces skepticism from some Democrats.
Two Democrats running for Senate voted against the measure: Rep. Colin Allred (D-TX), who is seeking to unseat Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) in Texas, and Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), who is competing for the Arizona seat currently held by Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ).
The other Democrats who voted in favor were Reps. Yadira Caraveo (D-CO), Henry Cuellar (D-TX), Donald Davis (D-NC), Vicente Gonzalez (D-TX), Jared Moskowitz (D-FL), Mary Peltola (D-AK), Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-WA), and Gabe Vasquez (D-NM).
Members also voted on several other bills as part of a House GOP “energy week” designed to present an alternative to the Biden administration’s energy policies, focusing in large part on issues of U.S. fossil fuel production and energy security.
House members voted 213 to 205 to approve H.R. 7023, the Creating Confidence in Clean Water Permitting Act. The legislation, introduced by Rep. David Rouzer (R-NC), seeks to streamline the permitting process for project approval under the National Environmental Policy Act and the Clean Water Act, namely by codifying the re-issuance process and by requiring the Environmental Protection Agency to give project holders notice two years before a general permit expires.
Members also voted 217 to 200 to approve H. Res. 987, a messaging bill introduced by Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA). The resolution denounces the “harmful” energy policies of the Biden administration, including limiting oil and gas drilling on federal lands, temporarily halting the authorization of new LNG export terminal approvals, and pursuing other policies that Newhouse and Republicans argue have pushed up energy costs and gas prices for U.S. consumers. Four Democrats voted with Republicans: Davis, Gonzalez, Peltola, and Perez.
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Tomorrow, the House will vote on the final energy bill, H.R. 1023, a bill to repeal the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. The bill was introduced by Rep. Gary Palmer (R-AL) and would repeal section 134 of the Clean Air Act, a program funded under the 2022 Democratic Inflation Reduction Act that allocates some $27 billion to reducing emissions in low-income U.S. communities.
While none of the measures will be brought to the floor in the Democratic-controlled Senate, the House bills are a way for Republicans in the chamber to go on the offensive and attack the White House and Democrats on what they see as a vulnerability in the 2024 elections.
