Maybe the Republicans are right, and it will cost that much - but I doubt it.  The main problem I have with their approach is that they have no approach at all.  Gingrich said we need to create a bill with "incentives" rather than cap and trade.  In the context of legislation, what is an incentive?  It's a tax break.  And if you give a tax break to energy producers, who ends up paying the difference?  The taxpayers.  So it's the same thing, and it will add to the budget deficit which our new deficit hawks will cry about...

I propose a gas tax where the revenue is dedicated to reducing overall oil consumption.  Houses, industry, road construction (asphalt) all use a lot of oil, and if the income from the tax was dedicated to switching to alternative energy use, we would incite demand destruction two ways: the tax would discourage excessive driving, and the revenue would reduce demand.  This might help keep oil prices modest, starve the oil-producing dictators of their prized revenue, and clean the environment in one fell swoop... As of now I believe federal gas taxes are dedicated to maintaining the interstate highway system, and that's not exactly the incentive that helps...

Lastly, wasn't cap and trade preferred by republicans over government regulation just a few years ago?  I thought that was the "market answer".  Or maybe they only meant Enron...