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Letter from Douglas W. Elmendorf, Director to Christopher H. Smith regarding costs that H.R. 2454, the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (as passed by the House of Representatives), would impose on households 1 (April 2010)

handle is hein.congrec/cbo10366 and id is 1 raw text is: April 20, 2010 Honorable Christopher H. Smith U.S. House of Representatives Washington, DC 20515 Dear Congressman: This letter responds to your request for additional information on the costs that H.R. 2454, the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (as passed by the House of Representatives), would impose on households. Previously, the Congressio- nal Budget Office (CBO) estimated the average loss in purchasing power that house- holds would experience between 2012 and 2050 as a result of the legislation's primary cap-and-trade program, which covers emissions of carbon dioxide and five other greenhouse gases; CBO also examined how that loss would vary across households with different levels of income in 2020 and 2050.1 This letter supplements CBO's previous work by providing estimates of the loss in purchasing power that households would experience in each year between 2012 and 2050.2 Overview of the Proposed Cap-and-Trade Program in H.R. 2454 Global climate change poses one of the nation's most significant long-term policy challenges. Human activities are producing increasingly large quantities of greenhouse gases, especially carbon dioxide. A strong consensus has developed in the expert com- munity that if the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is allowed to continue unabated, it will have extensive, highly uncertain, but potentially serious and costly impacts on regional climates throughout the world.3 Reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the United States and around the globe would moderate those impacts, but policies to achieve a reduction in emissions would also impose costs on U.S. households. 1. See Congressional Budget Office, The Economic Effects ofLegislation to Reduce Greenhouse-Gas Emissions (September 2009). 2. For information about the projected budgetary impact of the bill, see Congressional Budget Office, cost estimate for H.R. 2454, the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (June 5, 2009). 3. See Congressional Budget Office, Potential Impacts of Climate Change in the United States (May 2009).

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