GOP Says Energy Plan May Be Cap-and-Trade II

The White House is getting ready to put out President Barack Obama's new energy plan. And it seeks to make changes from its first proposal, which didn’t make it through Congress last year, The Hill reports. But some conservative critics already say the new plan resembles the cap-and-trade bills of the last Congress, calling it an expensive new federal mandate.

President Obama

President Obama announced the plan in last week’s State of the Union address.

A key goal is for 80 percent of U.S. power to come from “clean” sources by 2035, including renewables, natural gas, coal plants that trap carbon emissions, and nuclear power.

The White House is working with members of both sides of Congress to reach an agreement.

However, if the administration is unable to convince skeptics that the plan is much different from cap and trade, the new proposal is unlikely to go anywhere.