Daniels attacks Obama on cap-and-trade

WASHINGTON, May 30 (UPI) -- Democratic proposals for a cap-and-trade emissions system will cost the United States jobs without benefiting the climate, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels said.

Daniels delivered the Republican response to President Obama's weekly radio and Internet address.

"One policy being pushed by the President and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is, I regret to say, a poster child for government that cannot work," Daniels said. "The scheme to radically change the sources and the cost of American energy through a system known as 'cap and trade' may be well intentioned, but it will cost us dearly in jobs and income, and it stands no chance of achieving its objective of a cooler earth."

Daniels served as director of the Office of Management and Budget under President George W. Bush. He suggested the real goal of cap-and-trade is to generate revenue to pay for administration programs.

He suggested Indiana could be a model for the rest of the country, saying the state has turned to clean coal technology to cut greenhouse gas emissions, like carbon dioxide, greater use of biofuels and energy conservation.