Climate Stewardship and Economic Security Act of 2007
Latest action. Referred to the subcommitteeA smaller panel inside a standing committee with jurisdiction over a slice of its subject matter. Most hearings and the first markup usually happen here.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) on Department Operations, oversightCongress's review of how the executive branch carries out the laws it passed: hearings, document demands, investigations, and the spending power behind them.Read the full definition (opens a new tab), Nutrition and Forestry.
Climate Stewardship and Economic Security Act of 2007 - Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish a National Greenhouse Gas Database consisting of: (1) an inventory of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by covered entities (specified entities that own or control a source of GHG emissions in the electric power, industrial, and commercial sectors of the U.S. economy that emit more than 10,000 metric tons of GHGs per year); and (2) a registry of GHG emission reductions and increased sequestration, applicable to all entities.
Establishes a program for the market-driven reduction of GHGs by covered entities through the use of tradeable emissions allowances. Requires the Administrator to establish a declining cap on allowances to reduce GHG emissions over time. Requires covered entities, beginning in 2012, to submit to the Administrator one allowance for every metric ton of GHGs emitted. Authorizes the President to establish a program to require importers to pay the value of GHGs emitted during the production of goods or services imported into the United States from specified foreign nations.
Allows allowances to be sold, exchanged, purchased, retired, borrowed, offset, or otherwise used as authorized by this Act. Imposes civil penalties on covered entities that fail to submit allowances. Requires: (1) the Administrator to establish a program to assist developing counties and covered entities in reducing GHGs; and (2) the Secretary of Agriculture to establish an outreach initiative on opportunities for agricultural producers to earn revenue.
Establishes: (1) the Carbon Market Efficiency Board to analyze information on the GHG emission tradeable allowance market and to carry out cost relief measures if such market poses a significant harm to the US economy; and (2) the Climate Change Credit Corporation (CCCC) to receive, manage, buy, and sell allowances.
Directs the Administrator to make allocations of allowances to covered sectors and entities and to the CCCC, providing initial allocations for early action and accelerated participation.
Requires the CCCC to establish a program to provide financial support for: (1) technology to assist in compliance with this Act; (2) the restoration of habitat to help fish and wildlife adapt to climate change; and (3) restoration of large-scale aquatic ecosystems.
The summary continues for 3 more paragraphs. Read it in full on Congress.gov
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on November 15, 2007. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on April 25, 2008: Referred to the Subcommittee on Department Operations, Oversight, Nutrition and Forestry.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 110th Congress (2007-08), 460 of the 11,228 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 4.1 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
WAYNE GILCHREST (R-MD) introduced it on November 15, 2007, and 5 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 1 Democrat, 4 Republicans.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on November 15, 2007, 6874 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 6712 days ago, on April 25, 2008.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 110th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2009 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers