There has been much debate about the Waxman-Markey cap-and-trade bill that recently passed the U.S. House and is about to be debated in the Senate.

After carefully considering the implications of this bill, I strongly oppose its passage, and I thank Congressman Howard Coble and our neighboring Democratic Congressman Larry Kissell for voting against it. I also hope that we see Sens. Burr and Hagan doing the same when it's their turn to vote.

It amazed me to hear that before the bill was even out of committee, lawmakers from across the nation were already offering free emission credits to favored industries. These free credits total billions of dollars.

Washington is already inundated with pork bills, favoritism and reckless spending. We don't need one more bill that promotes all of the bad habits that many of our elected officials campaigned to end.

Further, the Waxman-Markey bill provided for a cap-and-trade program with little to no transparency and accountability built into it. This opens the door for an unpredictable and unprecedented amount of corrupt dealings and wasteful spending. The carbon marketplace that would be created would be susceptible to manipulation, and we must stop ourselves from self-destruction.

Thank you, Coble and Kissell, for your opposition to this bill. I appreciate your standing up for your constituents and voting to protect this country from dangerous legislation. Let's hope our senators do the same.

Joe Boylan

Pinehurst

Editor's Note: The writer served one term in the N.C. House.