The fact that the White House is not including projected revenues from cap and trade suggests that the Obama Administration is acquiescing to the notion that Congress may not pass such legislation, observers say.
Last year the Obama Administration projected that cap and trade would provide $646 billion in revenues from 2012-2019, but those numbers do not appear in the new budget, reports Reuters.
Instead, the White House budget includes a "placeholder" for revenues from cap and trade, provided that Congress passes it, reports the New York Times. The placeholder status assumes that no cap and trade revenues will be coming into the Treasury.
The $3.8 trillion budget would result in a record annual deficit of $1.56 trillion, reports Reuters. That compares to $1.41 trillion last year, which at the time represented 9.9 percent of the gross domestic product.
In energy related news and the budget, the White House plans to cut subsidies for fossil fuels to the tune of $40 billion over 10 years.
Clean energy projects would get a fresh injection of $6 billion, on top of previously announced spending.
Obama did not mention cap and trade during his State of the Union address last week, while he did mention comprehensive climate legislation.
White House aides say they are still working with members of Congress on climate legislation, according to the article.
The White House is likely to insist that any climate legislation be paid for without adding to the federal deficit.
