RNC knocks Krueger for past cap-and-trade support

The Republican National Committee is targeting President Obama’s nominee to lead the White House economics team for his past support of cap-and-trade.

The White House announced Monday morning that Obama will nominate Princeton University economics Professor Alan Krueger as chairman of the White House's Council of Economic Advisers.

Within minutes of the announcement, Republican National Committee Research Director Joe Pounder flagged 2009 remarks by Krueger during his tenure as an assistant secretary at the Treasury Department in which he touted the benefits of a cap-and-trade system for greenhouse gas emissions.

“New WH Chief economist: ‘The proposed cap-and-trade program holds the promise of creating new industries and jobs,’ ” Pounder said on Twitter Monday.

Pounder’s comments shed light on Republicans’ plans to undercut Krueger’s nomination.

The House passed cap-and-trade legislation in 2009, but the bill stalled in the Senate. More than two years later, the prospects for passage of major legislation to address climate change are dead, and cap-and-trade has become politically toxic for many policymakers in Washington.

But Republicans continue to knock Democrats for supporting the proposal, which the GOP says would put huge burdens on the economy.

In remarks flagged by Pounder given in September of 2009 in front of a Senate panel, Krueger said: “The proposed cap-and-trade program holds the promise of creating new industries and jobs; decreasing our dependence on oil; and limiting the release of pollutants that threaten the health of families and communities and the planet itself.”

Krueger was referring to a cap-and-trade program outlined by Obama in his budget that year.