The chair of the Conservative Climate Caucus, Iowa Republican Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, appears unlikely to support legislation to study the carbon intensity of U.S. industrial goods — even as the caucus’ previous leader is slated to be the lead GOP co-sponsor in the House.
This intraparty split over the “Providing Reliable, Objective, Verifiable Emissions Intensity and Transparency (PROVE IT) Act” — due to be introduced by Rep. John Curtis (R-Utah) in the coming weeks — underscores the continued political toxicity of a bipartisan plan opposed by the GOP’s hard right.
The idea behind the legislation is to show how American products can compete with goods from other countries in terms of being climate-friendly.
Some Republicans have lauded the bill as part of an “America First” trade policy. Others malign the legislation as the precursor to a carbon tax.
