Fact Checker

While Democrats have been trying to keep the focus of the governor's race on Robert F. McDonnell's graduate school thesis, Republicans have been working to return the spotlight to jobs.

The Republican Party of Virginia recently criticized state Sen. R. Creigh Deeds for supporting the reduction of global warming by imposing limits on carbon-based emissions. McDonnell has said the proposed cap-and-trade system would jeopardize 1,500 jobs in Deeds's district alone.

Is it true that Deeds (D-Bath) is supporting the bill? And is it true the bill could effectively shut down MeadWestvaco's plant in Covington?

Deeds's campaign has offered a detailed policy paper on energy that is silent on the wisdom of cap-and-trade. On the campaign trail, Deeds also has been reluctant to state his position, saying it's a federal matter.

As proof of support, Republicans cite a questionnaire Deeds filled out during the primary, in which Deeds said he favored "the many measures" suggested by Gov. Timothy M. Kaine's Commission on Climate Change, of which Deeds was a member. One of the commission's recommendations was to urge Congress "to establish a mandatory economy-wide cap and trade program."

The second question goes to the heart of the debate about whether the American Clean Energy and Security Act will create jobs or zap them.

President Obama said the cap-and-trade bill "will create new businesses, new industries and millions of new jobs." Others, such as the conservative Heritage Foundation, predict that the bill could eliminate nearly 1.9 million jobs by 2012.

Mark R. George, a MeadWestvaco vice president who oversees the Covington plant, said in a video created for the McDonnell campaign that the legislation could cost his plant "$60 to $80 million a year once you hit 2014."