Roy Blunt: “I would have some hesitation anyway about opposing my good friend from Rhode Island, but to have to oppose the Pope is…”

“I would have some hesitation anyway about opposing my good friend from Rhode Island, but to have to oppose the Pope is really ominous. I know the Pope also mentioned, more times than he mentioned carbon tax, helping the poor. This amendment says that if there is a carbon fee, we will use it to reduce the Federal deficit, to reduce Federal tax rates, to have other direct benefits. I would just say, when the poor family cannot pay their utility bill--the family who is the last family to get the new refrigerator, the family who is the last family to get the insulated windows, the family who is the last family to insulate their ceiling--I guess we tell them there are going to be some Federal tax rates that will be added for a family who cannot pay their utility bill. By the way, there are other direct benefits you might be able to use whenever you do not have heat or you do not have cooling. This is a tax that slows down our ability to compete. The most vulnerable among us are the most impacted by this, and I oppose it. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator's time has expired.”