CQ Politics reports that the sponsors of the chief Senate climate change legislation are pleased with the cost estimate of the bill released by the Congressional Budget Office. That's because their proposal won't cost the federal government a dime. In fact, it will raise taxes by about $1.2 trillion over ten years. And CQ cryptically notes that it will 'cost the private sector billions of dollars annually.'

This imprecise report led me to go and find the CBO estimate. What do they mean by 'billions of dollars annually'?

CBO estimates that enacting S. 2191, as amended, would increase revenues by about $1.21 trillion over the 2009-2018 period, net of income and payroll tax offsets...

S. 2191 also would impose private-sector mandates as defined in UMRA. The most costly mandates would require certain types of private-sector entities to participate in the cap-and-trade programs for GHG emissions created by the bill. CBO estimates that the cost of those mandates would amount to more than $90 billion each year during the 2012-2016 period...

So $1.2 trillion in new taxes, and about $100 billion more a year in compliance costs borne by the private sector. Given that concerns about jobs and economic growth are now the overriding issue for the 2008 election, is it really smart for Democrats to push a measure that's likely to be a major job killer, and a drag on economic growth?