ACES ACT vs CAP and TRADE Congressman Moore's office, this is....

Mark Wednesday, June 24th, as 'Day One' of American Clean Energy and Security Act phone raid. Many constituents got word that this bill, H.R. 2454 (yes I know the bill number by memory, as well as its surnames: Cap and Trade, Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES) of 2009 or as many callers refer to it as "the bill that will raise my taxes..."). I learned through hard work that when such a controversial bill makes its way to the floor, the amount of concern and panic that arises can take its toll on the staffers.

And because H.R. 2454 is looming large and is critically important our other duties in the office seemed to come to a near halt. I know that for me, staffing the phone impacted my ability to answer mail today because there was virtually no pause in between the rings.

What is ACES or Cap and Trade anyway? Basically, it is legislation that develops an approach to control pollutionby providing economic incentives for companies who successful cut (or cap) their pollution output or to penalize companies that don't cut theirs, to pay into the fund pool (trade). That's why sometimes H.R. 2454 is also referred to as an emissions tax. While not a new idea, it was heavily debated during the 2008 Presidential campaign and is being promoted by the Obama Administration.

As I try to gather information about the constituents' opinions and recommendations, by listening to them I also tried to assure them that the Congressman does value their communication. It is also our policy to let all Constitutents know that the Congressman is still gathering information to base his vote and my cast it either way, as he was, as of today, still considering of the bill.


Whew, this is the first of a 3 day campaign. Time for a good night's rest.