Tiahrt questions Obama’s climate bill

Rep. Todd Tiahrt, R-Kan., told a packed room Tuesday at The Breadbasket the cap and trade legislation just passed by the U.S. House was an example of Democrats paying attention to political science instead of real science.

Tiahrt made a brief stop in Newton for the dedication of the Sand Creek Restoration project as he crosses the region campaigning for the Senate seat Sam Brownback will vacate at the end of this term.

The legislation would put caps on the amount of carbon dioxide industry could emit, but would allow industry to buy carbon dioxide credits when it does pollute.

The bill also could affect trade as it would penalize trading partners who don’t curb pollution.

Tiahrt called the 1,200- page document a cap and tax bill because he said it would drive up the cost of gas, energy and consumer products, and push jobs out of the country.

Tiahrt said research done by the Goddard Space Flight Center, a branch of NASA, indicated global warming is not a result of increased carbon dioxide emissions, as some scientists theorize, but is a result of solar flares warming the Earth.

Tiahrt said emphasis wrongly has been placed on carbon dioxide.

Tiahrt made the analogy of the gases of the Earth being a 10,000-seat-stadium.

“There would be 4,200 people in the stadium wearing nitrogen jerseys, representing that portion of the atmosphere,” he said. “Twenty-four percent would be wearing oxygen jerseys, and four people would have on carbon dioxide jerseys. We are arguing about how long the sleeves are going to be on one of those jerseys.”

The bill calls for residents to do energy audits on homes when they build, renovate, apply for mortgages or sell homes.

Tiahrt said the legislation will cost every family in America $3,000 a year.

And he said he does not put his money on green jobs.

In Spain, where the government has enacted similar legislation, two jobs have been lost for every one green job created, he said.

“These are not high-paying jobs,” he said. “They are people whipping off solar panels and doing maintenance on wind mills.”

Tiahrt said he would like environmental issues dealt with in the free-market system. He said private companies could be offered incentives to reduce pollution and offer innovation, such as vehicles with lower emissions.

The Senate must pass the cap and trade bill. Its fate there is in question.

Analysts at the Associated Press indicated Monday Democrats did not have the 60 votes needed to prevent a filibuster in the Senate.

Health care

Tiahrt also gave a rally cry against President Obama’s health-care proposal, saying it was a step toward rationed health care.

Tiahrt said he favored legislation that would cut defensive medicine, which is the execution of unnecessary and costly medical procedures in attempts to stave off lawsuits.

Fraud is another big chunk out of the health-care pie, he said.

Federal auditors estimated Medicare fraud in the state of New York was about $18 billion last year, Tiahrt said.

Tiahrt said he supported the original State Children's Health Insurance Program, which also is known as SCHIP. However, the latest version includes families at 300 percent of the poverty level and encourages families with private insurance to leave the private sector for federally subsidized programs, he said.

Physician and hospitals are shifting costs to private payers because public programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid, pay 25 percent to 70 percent of the cost of care, he said.

Tiahrt told the story of an Overland Park woman who came to him for help.

She has an immune deficiency disease, and Medicare only will pay for a less expensive approved medication for her illness and not the one that had worked the best for her.

“You should not have to come to your congressman about your health-care needs,” he said.