Missing Taxes Day 73: Less than two weeks after President Obama’s victory in 2008, liberal trial lawyer Bill White wrote to his incoming chief of staff and explained how to sell cap and trade legislation

For Immediate Distribution: News Release May 19, 2010

Texans for Rick Perry: (512) 478-3276 Mark Miner: markminer@rickperry.org Catherine Frazier: catherinefrazier@rickperry.org

For 73 days, liberal trial lawyer Bill White has hidden his taxes from the people of Texas while claiming that cap and trade doesn’t go far enough. Now there is evidence that White advised the incoming Obama Administration in 2008 on how to sell the job-killing legislation to the public.

On Nov. 17, 2008 – less than two weeks after President Obama’s victory – White sent incoming White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel an email titled “Energy Policy at the Beginning of an Administration.” (“Bill White's advice to Obama on cap and trade,” Houston Chronicle, 5/18/20, story below, full email available online at http://blogs.chron.com/texaspolitics/archives/2010/05/bill_whites_adv.html)

In the memo, White outlines four areas for President Obama to act and says he should “avoid during 2009 wading into the mire of cap-and-trade or user taxes on carbon before the new Administration and Congress has made progress on the above four items."

“It is now clear that liberal Bill White is the author of President Obama’s energy policy and efforts to sell job-killing cap and trade legislation to the public,” said Texans for Rick Perry spokesman Mark Miner. “Bill White bragged about advising the Obama campaign, then immediately after the election auditioned to become Secretary of Energy by writing the new administration’s energy policy. Now he claims that cap and trade doesn’t go far enough. Bill White may run from his record, but he cannot hide from the truth.”

Houston Chronicle, May 18, 2010
“Bill White's advice to Obama on cap and trade”

An email dropped over the transom today in which then-Mayor Bill White gave energy policy advice to President-elect Obama in November 2008 that appears to hint at re-branding the cap-and-trade debate.

But White spokeswoman Katy Bacon said that is an incorrect interpretation of the letter and that White has never supported cap and trade global warming legislation.

White has consistently spoken against pending cap-and-trade legislation before Congress, but he has been harder to pin down on the broader issue of global warming. Gov. Rick Perry, whom White is challenging in the general election, has been opposed to cap and trade in concept, saying it would devastate the Texas economy.

Cap and trade caps pollution levels but allows companies with air quality permits to trade their credits.

In White's 2008 email entitled "Energy Policy at the Beginning of an Administration" to Rahm Emanuel, who now is White House chief of staff, White outlines some of his standard policies for reducing the nation's energy use:

* Use consumer tax credits to promote vehicles with fuel efficiency above 40 miles a gallon.

* Fund a national program to retrofit low-income housing to cut electricity consumption. This was done in weatherization programs and energy efficient appliance rebates that were included in stimulus funds.

* Promote natural gas electrical generating plants. Perry has backed coal-fired plants.

* Promote programs such as smart meters for electricity or rooftop solar energy.

Now, here's the kicker: "Avoid during 2009 wading into the mire of cap-and-trade or user taxes on carbon BEFORE (my emphasis added) the new Administration and Congress has made progress on the above four items."

White goes on to say:

"The law of unintended consequences will prevail if carbon caps are imposed before the necessary tools are in place. A carbon-based tax or sales tax schemes could be characterized as intrusive government increasing costs unless there is a 'path forward'..."

White says the public can understand lower energy costs.

"But do not allow the concept of reducing carbon emissions to drive this process," White wrote. "Lowering energy bills with clean domestic energy is a much better approach."

What's vague in this is whether White would support cap and trade if his energy policies are adopted first.

"Any characterization of this letter as support for cap and trade is false," Bacon said.

Bacon said the only reason White brought the issue up in the letter is that Obama and Republican nominee John McCain discussed it in their 2008 campaigns. Bacon said the fact White referred to cap and trade as a "mire" shows his feelings for the concept.

"Bill doesn't support cap and trade," Bacon said.

Here is the email. Decide for yourself whether White is leaving the back door cracked.

http://blogs.chron.com/texaspolitics/archives/2010/05/bill_whites_adv.html

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