U.S. Budget hangs on Cap & Trade

U.S. budget update stands pat on CO2 permit auction

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House budget update released on Tuesday still reflects a controversial Obama administration plan to combat global warming by auctioning all permits to emit greenhouse gases even though Congress has said it will give away a substantial portion to industry.

The mid-session budget review from the Office of Management and Budget estimates the government will raise $627 billion in revenue between 2012 and 2019 from a so-called cap-and-trade system requiring companies to buy permits for the carbon gases they spew into the atmosphere.

In the current budget, the proceeds from cap and trade are set to pay for $15 billion annually in clean energy technology investments and billions of dollars in tax breaks for U.S. workers to offset higher energy costs.

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That last part really get's under my skin. They want to auction these permits to the energy industry to raise funds but once again the burden will be put on the backs of us workers.