Democratic Reps. Andre Carson and Baron Hill were the only members of
Indiana’s delegation to vote in favor of a bill to force reductions in
greenhouse gases blamed for global warming.
The House passed the bill 219-212 on Friday.
Carson and Hill were among 211 Democrats and eight Republicans who voted for
the measure. There were 44 Democrats and 168 Republicans opposed, including
Indiana Democrats Joe Donnelly, Brad Ellsworth and Pete Visclosky, and
Republicans Dan Burton, Steve Buyer, Mike Pence and Mark Souder.
Carson said the bill would help Indiana’s economy.
“Thousands of jobs will be created with investments in clean-energy
technologies, as demand increases for products like steel for wind turbines
and advanced windows for energy-efficient buildings,” Carson said. “With the
enactment of this bill, I can envision the next generation of green,
fuel-efficient automobiles being made right here in Indiana.”
Donnelly, however, said it could jeopardize jobs.
“The legislation has too many uncertainties in terms of the effect it would
have on manufacturers and other businesses and the Hoosiers they employ,”
Donnelly said. “In particular, I am very concerned that the bill would put
us at a competitive disadvantage relative to other emerging economic powers
like China and India.”
Souder said it would hurt steel, automobile and boat manufacturers.
“It might as well have been named the cap-and-trade-our-jobs-to-China bill,”
Souder said.