President Barack Obama's $3.55 trillion budget, released on Thursday, maintains his proposal to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by selling 100 percent of emission permits to industries, despite opposition from some members of Congress, including within his own Democratic Party, who advocate for giving away at least 50 percent of emissions permits initially to ease the transition to a low-carbon economy. Critics are concerned that charging companies for their carbon emissions could further strain the struggling economy. The plan to auction off all emission permits is expected to generate $646 billion in revenue over the first few years of the program. White House budget director Peter Orszag confirmed that there would be no changes to the climate proposal when more details are released next week. During the previous presidential campaign, Obama expressed his preference for selling all emissions permits instead of giving them away for free, although he has indicated a possible willingness to be flexible on this issue. The Obama administration's plan involves capping the amount of carbon dioxide emissions from various sources such as coal-fired power plants, oil refineries, cars, and other industries. Companies that exceed the emission limit would need to purchase emissions credits from companies that emit less. The Congressional Budget Office highlighted the primary goal of implementing a cap-and-trade system, which is to incentivize companies to reduce their emissions. According to David Elmendorf from the CBO, giving away allowances is essentially equivalent to selling them and donating the auction proceeds. According to Elmendorf, the total revenue generated from auctioning emissions could reach approximately $1.2 trillion over a decade. This increase in costs for companies emitting pollutants will result in higher prices for consumers. In Obama's budget, some of the revenue from the cap-and-trade plan will be given back to consumers to help offset the price increase. Elmendorf noted that a price increase is necessary to encourage a change in behavior, and while it can be shifted around, it cannot be avoided entirely. A cap-and-trade bill, sponsored by Representative Henry Waxman, is making its way through Congress. Waxman, a California Democrat who chairs the House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee, is pushing for the bill to be passed by the end of May. However, a senior Republican suggested that the bill could be put on hold for a few months while the committee focuses on healthcare reform. This delay could give Democrats more time to gather support for the climate change legislation, according to Representative Joe Barton, a Texas Republican. Some Democrats on the panel, such as Mike Doyle of Pennsylvania, believe that most of the emission permits needed by industry under a cap-and-trade plan will initially be distributed for free, rather than auctioned off, for the first 10 or 15 years of the program. Although Obama prefers to address carbon emissions through legislation, he also has the option of using regulation to achieve the same goal. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently stated that greenhouse gas emissions pose a threat to human health and can therefore be controlled as a pollutant.