U.S. Rep. Mark Schauer votes for controversial energy bill he says will create jobs, President Obama, environmental groups, detractors weigh in

After months on the fence, U.S. Rep. Mark Schauer, D-Battle Creek, voted in favor of the American Clean Energy and Security Act on Friday that he says will create jobs, reduce dependence on foreign oil and reduce pollution. Republicans say it will destroy jobs, increase our energy bills and is a ticket home for centrist Democrats in the 2010 Congressional elections.

The bill, also known as the cap and trade bill passed the House by a vote of 219-212…

The CBO estimates say this will cost the average household an additional $14.60 a month…

Here is a summary of what was in the bill. And here is more info on cap and trade…

Boehner called it “the biggest job-killing bill that has ever been on the floor of the House of Representatives.” He also called it a “pile of s—.”

He read from the majority of the 300-page addition that Democrats stuck into the bill at 3 a.m., wanting people to hear what was in it before it was voted on. Democrats charged he was prolonging the debate in the hopes that some in Congress would leave early to go home for the holiday recess. Democrats went to extra lengths to make sure they had votes, pulling one member out of rehab for the vote, another who just had heart surgery and another who was getting married the next day…

There is at least one piece of the bill that Obama does not want in the final version, a protectionist measure that would impose trade sanctions on countries that don’t put limits on their emissions.

Jackson-based Consumers Energy praised Schauer for modifying provisions to the bill that will have a favorable impact on customers as we move toward high-efficiency lighting, but declined to comment on whether the utility supports the actual bill as a whole…

But it wasn’t all positive reaction.

The National Republican Congressional Committee called Schauer, Nancy Pelosi’s “puppet,” and are trying to paint him as a flip-flopper.

The NRCC’s statement quotes an April article in Politico in which Schauer said he was undecided on the bill and couldn’t support it in its current form.

“Mark Schauer led Michigan voters to believe that they actually had a representative in Congress fighting against higher energy costs and spiking unemployment,” NRCC Communications Director Ken Spain said in a statement. “Unfortunately, Schauer once again bowed to his party bosses at the expense of middle-class families. Now, the people of Michigan will have to foot the bill for Nancy Pelosi’s arm-twisting and Mark Schauer’s stunning lack of principle.”
Click here to read the full story.