National job security is vying with environmental protection as the most important element in climate legislation, as evidenced by the title of the recently introduced Senate bill-the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act. Introduced by Senate Democratic leaders Barbara Boxer and John Kerry, the bill is loaded with provisions that the authors claim "protect consumers and businesses large and small, and create jobs that can't be shipped overseas."

But Republicans have attacked the Senate bill with the same strategy they used against the Waxman-Markey American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009-that cap and trade will destroy millions of jobs overall even if it does create some green jobs.

The Republican Policy Committee (RPC) has cited studies conducted or commissioned by sources as diverse as the National Black Chamber of Commerce, the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the National Association of Manufacturers, and the Brookings Institution, all of which conclude, says the RPC, that fewer jobs overall will result if the legislation is passed.

But Senator Kerry argues that RPC "uses bad studies badly."

"[RPC] cites studies that don't include the important mechanisms we include to limit increases in energy prices and ensure competitiveness for American industries."

RPC states that the Kerry-Boxer bill seems to recognize that workers will lose their jobs as a result of the bill because it provides, as does Waxman-Markey, for assistance to displaced workers.

Senator Kerry counters that the bill will produce a net increase of almost 2 million jobs by 2020. Also, Kerry relies on other studies that indicate that every dollar spent on clean energy creates nearly four times as many jobs as a dollar invested in oil and gas.

As committees discuss Kerry-Boxer, advocates from both sides of the aisle will certainly be brandishing studies that support their positions. And while all the academic verbiage will do nothing to change the minds of the hardliners, lawmakers in the critical middle may be up nights comparing findings. Stay tuned.

[Source: Environmental Manager's Compliance Advisor. Subscribe today!]