Re: POLITICS Ron on the Environment

[Guest guest]

Sorry for the lack of a tag - my mistake. Please respond to this one

with the tag if comments follow.

Chris

On 12/30/07, Masterjohn <chrismasterjohn@...> wrote:

>

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Ron_#Environmental_prote\

ction

>

> In 2005, supported by Friends of the Earth, cosponsored a bill

> preventing the U.S. from funding nuclear power plants in China.[176]

>

> He has voted against federal subsidies for the oil and gas industry,

> saying that without government subsidies to the oil and gas

> industries, alternative fuels would be more competitive with oil and

> gas and would come to market on a competitive basis sooner.[14]

>

> Rather than bureaucrats in Washington giving subsidies that favor

> certain technologies over others, such as ethanol from corn rather

> than sugarcane, he believes the market should decide which

> technologies are best and which will succeed in the end.[14]

>

> He sponsored an amendment to repeal the federal gas tax for consumers.[177]

> He believes that nuclear power is an alternative that should be

> considered, because it is a clean and efficient fuel and could help

> with powering efficient electric cars.[14]

>

> He believes that states should be able to decide whether to allow

> production of hemp, which can be used in producing sustainable

> biofuels, and has introduced bills into Congress to allow states to

> decide this issue; North Dakota, particularly, has built an ethanol

> plant with the ability to process hemp as biofuel and its farmers have

> been lobbying for the right to grow hemp for years.[178]

>

> He voted against 2004 and 2005 provisions that would shield a

> Saudi-royal-owned group from liability for MTBE, a possibly

> cancer-causing gasoline additive that seeped into New England

> groundwater. Saudi lobbyists since 1998 sought to limit liability,

> arguing an additive had been required and the alternative, ethanol,

> was more expensive. The proposal included $1.8 billion to fund cleanup

> and another $2 billion to fund companies' phaseout programs. Taxpayers

> for Common Sense said the measure was a " gift horse " and subsidy for

> the Saudi-owned company, in a bill meant to reduce dependence on

> foreign oil.[179][180][181]

>

> http://www.ronpaul2008.com/issues/environment/

>

> The federal government has proven itself untrustworthy with

> environmental policy by facilitating polluters, subsidizing logging in

> the National Forests, and instituting one-size-fits-all approaches

> that too often discriminate against those they are intended to help.

>

> The key to sound environmental policy is respect for private property

> rights. The strict enforcement of property rights corrects

> environmental wrongs while increasing the cost of polluting.

>

> In a free market, no one is allowed to pollute his neighbor's land,

> air, or water. If your property is being damaged, you have every right

> to sue the polluter, and government should protect that right. After

> paying damages, the polluter's production and sale costs rise, making

> it unprofitable to continue doing business the same way. Currently,

> preemptive regulations and pay-to-pollute schemes favor those wealthy

> enough to perform the regulatory tap dance, while those who own the

> polluted land rarely receive a quick or just resolution to their

> problems.

>

> In Congress, I have followed a constitutional approach to environmental

action:

>

> I consistently vote against using tax dollars to subsidize logging in

> National Forests.

> I am a co-sponsor of legislation designed to encourage the development

> of alternative and sustainable energy. H.R. 550 extends the investment

> tax credit to solar energy property and qualified fuel cell property,

> and H.R. 1772 provides tax credits for the installation of wind energy

> property.

> Taxpayers for Common Sense named me a " Treasury Guardian " for my work

> against environmentally-harmful government spending and corporate

> welfare.

> I am a member of the Congressional Green Scissors Coalition, a

> bipartisan caucus devoted to ending taxpayer subsidies of projects

> that harm the environment for the benefit of special interests.

>

> Individuals, businesses, localities, and states must be free to

> negotiate environmental standards. Those who depend on the land for

> their health and livelihood have the greatest incentive to be

> responsible stewards.

>