WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-WY), chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW), released the following statement on the American Action Forum’s (AAF) release of its comprehensive cost analysis of the Green New Deal proposal.

AAF’s analysis found that, if implemented, the proposal would cost between $51 trillion and $93 trillion over the next decade. The Green New Deal would cost every household in America between $36,100 and $65,300 per year.

“The American Action Forum’s analysis shows that the Green New Deal would bankrupt the nation,” said Barrasso. “On the upper end, every American household would have to pay $65,000 per year to foot the bill. The total price tag would be $93 trillion over 10 years. That is roughly four times the value of all Fortune 500 companies combined. That’s no deal.

“Instead, we should promote innovation to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Promising new technologies like advanced nuclear power, carbon capture, and carbon utilization hold the key to significant emissions reductions. We can lower our emissions without crashing our economy.”

Background Information:

On January 14, 2019, President Trump signed Barrasso’s legislation, the Nuclear Energy Innovation and Modernization Act (NEIMA), into law. Nuclear power is America’s largest source of reliable, carbon-free energy. NEIMA will provide the public greater clarity into the process by which the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) develops its budget and recovers its costs through fees. The bill requires the NRC to establish performance metrics and milestones for licensing and other regulatory actions.

Barrasso has also sponsored the Utilizing Significant Emissions with Innovative Technologies (USE IT) Act. The USE IT Act would support carbon utilization and direct air capture research. The bill would also support federal, state, and non-governmental collaboration in the construction and development of carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration (CCUS) facilities and carbon dioxide (CO2) pipelines. The EPW Committee will hold a legislative hearing on the USE IT Act on February 27, 2019.

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