Louisiana Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy says he will use part of his remaining time in Congress to lobby for passage of legislation that would put a price on certain polluting imports.
“I’d like to try to get it done this Congress,” said Cassidy, who over the weekend lost his chance to compete in a run-off GOP primary after running afoul of President Donald Trump and his supporters. “But if not, I’m comfortable that there will be somebody who would be interested in pushing it. Now that folks understand the concept, they have very much gotten into it.”
The bill, would slap a tariff on certain products because of their impact on the environment, including greenhouse gas emissions — a goal with bipartisan support. Conservative advocates have called the proposal and those like it a slippery slope toward a domestic carbon tax.
But in an interview this week, Cassidy said six Senate Republicans have been meeting about the policy in a sign of growing interest. He declined to name the members of the group outside of himself and co-sponsor Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), but said the lawmakers engaged represent a “spectrum of our caucus.”
“I can’t tell you that they’re all ready to go to the floor. But they’re all very much interested in the concept and understand the objectives. They have gotten to the point where they realize that we are paying for China not adhering to environmental standards,” Cassidy said.
He will have to triage his priorities now that his time in Congress has been involuntarily cut short: Cassidy said Tuesday he has met with aides about “what do we think we can complete, what can we pass off.”
Cassidy has been aggressive in advocating for his pollution fee, though, including asking Trump administration nominees and officials whether they would consider the concept. Last month, during an Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing, he pressed Energy Secretary Chris Wright to reaffirm his support for a pollution-related import tariffs.
Wright stopped short of a full endorsement but said he shared Cassidy’s “passion” for ensuring American manufacturers are not disadvantaged by adhering to stricter pollution standards than countries like China.
“I share absolutely your mission and want to continue to work with you on your particular mechanism for the way to achieve that, but you and I are very aligned on this issue, and it is important,” Wright said.
Josh Siegel contributed to this report.
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