Liberals Howl as Christie Uses Cap-and-Trade $ to Balance Budget

Gov. Chris Christie has said he is taking $65 million from the state's model cap-and-trade program to balance the state's $29.3 billion budget, but he is getting pushback from Democrats in the state Legislature.

The money comes from quarterly carbon permit auctions held by the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, an alliance of 10 Eastern states from Maine to Maryland. The governor said he also is planning on taking all of the proceeds from the next three quarterly auctions in 2010.