Boquist: Cap-and-trade is a national security threat

'SB 1530's cap-and-trade scheme will easily allow Chinese market manipulation.'

Last week, the House Veterans and Emergency Preparedness Committee held hearings with the intent to cast climate change and global warming as threats to national security.

The documents provided in the committee should not be taken at face value because they are from politically correct collaborators in the military industrial intelligence complex that failed in Iraq and Afghanistan after nearly two decades. It is about money and budgets, not real national security. Further, the military's climate change admirals, generals and contractors did nothing as Communist China built a world-class military and navy that can challenge anyone in the Pacific Ocean clear to our own coastline. In fact, Washington, D.C., and the Pentagon's profiteers collaborated with the People's Republic of China.

Senate Bill 1530, cap-and-trade, is extortion disguised as an environmental bill. The entire world's carbon footprint is 36.8 billion metric tons, and Oregon's part of that is 1/10th of 1%. Even the proponents of this piece of legislation say Oregon's contribution to world greenhouse gas emissions is immeasurable. The legislation handcuffs Oregon businesses while directly benefiting Communist China. Its connection to Oregon Gov. Kate Brown's climate agreements with Communist China remains a mystery.

However, the governor's support for Communist Chinese submarine cable landing sites on the Oregon coast — that have the capabilities to strike directly at America's cyber net — is an undeniable fact. Two sites are currently operational, with a third in the approval and construction phase. Oregon has more Communist Chinese cable landing sites than California and Washington. Why?

SB 1530 targets United States national security industrial capacity and specific industrial sites. Two examples of these industrial sites are cement and steel businesses. Similar to anti-trade union efforts in the past that sought to transfer U.S. industries to Communist China for profit, SB 1530 effectively shutters cement and steel production needed for national security, or to be self-sufficient. Today, past efforts to aid the enemies of the United States are apparent. U.S. plants are "temporarily" closing because Communist Chinese parts suppliers cannot meet production demands due to the coronavirus. Whether this is intentional or unintentional is unknown, but Communist China markets have proven resilient to the coronavirus turmoil while American markets have experienced one of the largest decreases in years. The Oregon Index of regional stocks fell more than 14% last week.

Communist Chinese government companies emit and/or burn three times the carbon to Oregon's cement production and up to seven times the carbon to Oregon's steel production without any regulation. Cap-and-trade hurts Oregon companies by making it impossible for them to compete on international markets. Communist China's weaponized government companies will replace jobs and production lost with the closure of Oregon cement, steel and technology facilities. In short, SB 1530 increases carbon utilization in China for the benefit of Democrat special interests and to the detriment of Oregon's citizens.

SB 1530's cap-and-trade scheme will easily allow Chinese market manipulation. The communist government can control the market itself and control individual access to buy and sell. This is exactly the type of market manipulation individuals like George Soros have used in the past — not to mention Tom Steyer and Michael Bloomberg with deals in China.

Cap-and-trade does more than create artificial ceilings that drive companies out of business; it includes buying low and large with government funds initially, then closing backdoor deals with extremely high value purchases, followed by China and other markets, simply holding the carbon allowances to drive U.S. companies out of business because they will be unable to compete.

The cap-and-trade regressive tax, coupled with the corporate activity tax (CAT), ensures Oregon businesses do not have a chance at survival, but the governor and Democrats are giving investors and Communist China with big dollars the advantage. These are the simple manipulation schemes. Neither a state agency or an American court can react fast enough to prevent such a national security calamity.

SB 1530 is largely exempt from public records requests, meaning Oregonians will never know who the government and unelected bureaucrats sell carbon allowances to and for what cost. The corruption and manipulation to our economy will be unknown.

Court cases take years, but businesses go broke in days, impacting real families and communities, even in Portland. Proponents admit in SB 1530 that Oregon production costs will rise up to 25%. Working families do not have a spare 25% to absorb extra costs, nor do fixed income seniors and disabled citizens. No amount of rhetoric about job training by the misguided promoters of SB 1530 puts food on the kitchen table for Oregon children. None.

Recall market share purchases are quite common in medium-sized markets like Oregon and Washington. International brewing corporations have bought and shuttered regional beer companies for years. The Chinese cases before the World Trade Organization clearly show their capacity to eliminate their adversaries with market manipulation. Ask any trade union member.

Once SB 1530 results in production closures, job losses, and increased pollution, the Chinese are in a very good position to purchase shuttered plants for cents on the dollar — not to re-open, but seize technology to transfer to China and establish footholds for future use in natural resource exploitation. Look at Africa and the Chinese belt initiative as a current example.

While some in the Democrat Party and Republican neo-conservatives view Communist China as some long-lost ally to profiteer with in the short run, the military facts are starkly different. China's communist amphibious fleet is the largest in the world, surpassing all of NATO and Russia combined. They have the largest blue water invasion fleet since World War II. China's communist military-capable merchant marine fleet is more than 10 times the size of the United States military and civilian fleets. China did not spend hundreds of billions of dollars to create a blue water invasion fleet for no reason. It is not a fleet for invading Taiwan, as the fleet size and structure doesn't match up. So, whom?

The Chinese are capable of building more than a thousand ships per year, each over 1,000 metric tons. America produces just over 10 ships per year, which is a far cry from the over 300 ships built in Portland in World War II. American naval and military planners intentionally fail to publicly recognize the capacity of China. Retaining American steel, cement, technology, and industrial production, while going greener is critical to national survival. Though it is clear many globalists want America destroyed.

World War II in the Pacific was about the acquisition of natural resources. Today, the People's Republic of China needs to import oil, iron ore, copper, oil seeds (canola), coal and organic chemicals to survive in the future. Where does China get these resources?

America has been in a phony military competition with Russia for years, while certain Americans have supported Communist China's build up against the United States. Russia is not capable of mounting an amphibious invasion of anyone. China's military is prepared to invade this country to acquire our natural resources. And Oregon is letting it happen through the cap-and-trade legislation. It is time Americans stop supporting China to attack U.S. citizens, either at home or abroad.

If the House Veterans and Emergency Preparedness Committee is correct that climate change and global warming is a national security threat, then Senate Bill 1530 and House Bill 4167 should be killed by the sponsors. In its place, a green industrial plan guaranteed to retain heavy industry, technology and family-wage jobs should be developed to incentivize carbon reductions, especially in transportation and electrical production.

Why do we have a legislative bill in Oregon that aids known adversaries?

Everything should be on the table to discuss openly in the public view. No more hypocrisy from the so-called majority leaders in the Legislature.

Brian Boquist has represented Senate District 12, including parts of Washington, Yamhill, Polk, Marion and Benton counties, in the Oregon Senate since 2009. He is also a retired U.S. Army Special Forces lieutenant colonel. A Republican, he lives in Dallas.