Three Senators Join Forces On Climate Bill
Warren Buffett / Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images
A trio of senators with differing political views is working behind-the-scenes to rescue troubled climate legislation.
Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., together with Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Sen. Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., said Wednesday they would work in conjunction with the White House to patch together a bill that could pass the U.S. Senate.
The three senators met individually with Energy Secretary Steven Chu, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and Carol Browner, the president's assistant for energy and climate change.
"Our effort is to try to reach out to broaden the base of support ...," Kerry said at an afternoon news conference. "The key here is to really negotiate once, in a sense."
Graham, who has come under fire in his home state for his support of action on climate change, said working on legislation was a "once in a lifetime opportunity" to solve two problems: heat-trapping carbon dioxide pollution and the country's dependence on foreign sources of fuel.
"If environmental policy is not good business policy, you will not get 60 votes," Graham warned. "The green economy is coming. We can either follow or lead."
The announcement came as a key Senate panel for a second straight day delayed voting on any changes to a climate and energy bill introduced in late September by Kerry and Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., because no Republicans showed up.
Republican lawmakers are demanding a more thorough economic analysis of the measure, which would reduce heat-trapping gases by 83 percent by 2050, saying it will raise energy prices and cause job losses.
But the bill, which would set up a market for pollution permits, has also raised concerns among moderate Democrats, including Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont.
Kerry, Graham and Lieberman stressed Wednesday that their "dual track" for climate legislation would not usurp Boxer's efforts, or the work of five other committees that have jurisdiction over energy and climate policy. They also said they had the blessing of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.
Instead, they said they would take the best pieces of the Kerry-Boxer bill and try to broaden support by adding more incentives for nuclear power and offshore drilling that could bring some Republicans and moderate Democrats on board.
Tony Kreindler, a spokesman for the Environmental Defense Fund, said the three senators "have given a new life to a bipartisan process."
Left unanswered was how long the new process would take. Kerry said he would not be bound by a specific time frame. But with a month left until 192 nations gather in Copenhagen,
Denmark to hammer out a new international treaty to slow global warming, the Obama administration and Democrats are under pressure to show movement on a climate bill.
The House passed its version of the bill in June.
"This is the year that we've got to reach out to each other and get the 60 votes to get something done," said Lieberman. Lieberman co-authored a global warming bill last year along with former Republican Sen. John Warner of Virginia and Boxer. The measure failed to get enough votes to advance on the Senate floor.
AP Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., together with Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Sen. Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., said Wednesday they would work in conjunction with the White House to patch together a bill that could pass the U.S. Senate.
The three senators met individually with Energy Secretary Steven Chu, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and Carol Browner, the president's assistant for energy and climate change.
"Our effort is to try to reach out to broaden the base of support ...," Kerry said at an afternoon news conference. "The key here is to really negotiate once, in a sense."
Graham, who has come under fire in his home state for his support of action on climate change, said working on legislation was a "once in a lifetime opportunity" to solve two problems: heat-trapping carbon dioxide pollution and the country's dependence on foreign sources of fuel.
"If environmental policy is not good business policy, you will not get 60 votes," Graham warned. "The green economy is coming. We can either follow or lead."
The announcement came as a key Senate panel for a second straight day delayed voting on any changes to a climate and energy bill introduced in late September by Kerry and Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., because no Republicans showed up.
Republican lawmakers are demanding a more thorough economic analysis of the measure, which would reduce heat-trapping gases by 83 percent by 2050, saying it will raise energy prices and cause job losses.
But the bill, which would set up a market for pollution permits, has also raised concerns among moderate Democrats, including Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont.
Kerry, Graham and Lieberman stressed Wednesday that their "dual track" for climate legislation would not usurp Boxer's efforts, or the work of five other committees that have jurisdiction over energy and climate policy. They also said they had the blessing of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.
Instead, they said they would take the best pieces of the Kerry-Boxer bill and try to broaden support by adding more incentives for nuclear power and offshore drilling that could bring some Republicans and moderate Democrats on board.
Tony Kreindler, a spokesman for the Environmental Defense Fund, said the three senators "have given a new life to a bipartisan process."
Left unanswered was how long the new process would take. Kerry said he would not be bound by a specific time frame. But with a month left until 192 nations gather in Copenhagen,
Denmark to hammer out a new international treaty to slow global warming, the Obama administration and Democrats are under pressure to show movement on a climate bill.
The House passed its version of the bill in June.
"This is the year that we've got to reach out to each other and get the 60 votes to get something done," said Lieberman. Lieberman co-authored a global warming bill last year along with former Republican Sen. John Warner of Virginia and Boxer. The measure failed to get enough votes to advance on the Senate floor.
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Now, firms would choose between installing anti-pollution equipment on factories and power plants vs. buying emissions credits from companies that cut carbon output.
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For his part, Graham believes that Republicans must stop denying that global warming is a dire problem ? and stop blocking the growth of alternative forms of energy that he says could become a powerful economic engine.
"We need to lead the world rather than follow the world on carbon pollution," he said. "Our country doesn't have the infrastructure in place to build a green economy, and never will until we price carbon. And our country doesn't have a vision for energy independence. We need one."
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Graham's initiative with Kerry is aimed at producing a more moderate measure with new allowances for drilling and nuclear energy.
"If I can create legislation that would allow this country to stop buying so much foreign oil and make us safer ? plus find a solution to the carbon pollution hurting our planet ? that would be a good use of my time, " Graham told McClatchy .
http://news.yahoo.com/s/mcclatchy/3351537
The senators' plan, described in a newspaper column, has several key features:
1) It sets maximum and minimum prices for the carbon credits.
2) It streamlines the permit process for new nuclear power reactors.
3) It authorizes expanded offshore oil and natural gas drilling.
4) It considers a "border tax" on imports from countries with weak environmental standards.
"If environmental policy is not good business policy, you will not get 60 votes," Graham warned. "The green economy is coming. We can either follow or lead."
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Considering that last year's climate bill by warner, boxer and lieberman was fillibustered by the GOP, it makes sense to try to broaden support in the partisan senate by adding more incentives for nuclear power and offshore drilling. Those incentives could be paid for by taxing the worst offenders like coal-fired energy plants instead of a "cap and trade" market ripe for exploitation.
I've never been a fan of "cap and trade" and setting-up a market for pollution permits, and truly believe we have the technology today to reduce harmful emissions by capturing them and using those same emissions to produce beneficial products like biofuels. The worst offenders have had free reign on polluting our atmosphere for decades without consequences, and since they didn't feel the need to change, it is past time for more regulation and taxes for non-compliance!
China has already stated they are attempting to attain 15% renewable energy by 2020, and it appears that their huge wind farms will need a new grid of transmission lines in order to transfer the energy to where it's needed. They are manufacturing thin-film PV for both their use and for export, which gives solar energy a boost in cost-effectiveness!
The green revolution is here, and we must not let any new technology be overshadowed by an antiquated fossil fuel industry adamant about still confusing the public for their continued record profits!
Kinda is everything to everyone.
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Actually, that's a typical politician trying to placate everyone to their faces, yet going behind their backs with the opposition.
There's no room for bipartisanship in the GOP.
If we continue to delay, the Chinese will be happy to lead. They will make yet another fortune off of green technologies, and we will be further in debt.
Once the voters of S Carolina realize how completely fvcked they are, and WHO caused them to be fvcked, they are going to be hunting for heads, not reelecting incumbents. Graham is just trying to buy himself some wiggle room should the sh*t hit the fan on the issue of sea-level rise, which it is likely to do within the decade.
These politicians are just trying to position themselves for the sh*t-storm coming their way, as wealthy coastal landowners (politically powerful, as always) come to realize how fvcked they are by sea-level rise, in the next 20 years.
1. The climate bill...as currently constituted...is c*r*a*p! It is also AGAINST the best interest of this nation...and should NOT be done...at this time.
2. In my opinion...you don't have the competence in the Senate to deal with this issue! The people there are more interested in pocketing campaign contributions than dealing with science and environment issues!
3. It's hypocritical that Joe 'No to health care for any reason' Lieberman will work on this bill...but, says 'NO' to health care!
Probably, because...as stated in #1 above...it's against the interest of the USA!
In closing, since there is little the Senate can do to improve things...it would be wise...at this point...if they just didn't screw anything more up!