After the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee approved a climate change bill Thursday, on an 11-1 vote without any Republican support, senators are weighing in on the committee's approach and chances for future support. Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., cast the sole vote against the bill, with committee ranking member James Inhofe, R-Okla., warning Democrats not to use the "nuclear option" of moving ahead without his party, according to Greenwire.
Baucus was quoted by Congressional Quarterly Today as saying: "While I am voting no on this particular bill, let me be crystal clear ... I'm going to work to get climate change legislation that can get 60 votes through the United States Senate and signed into law."
Committee Chairman Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., defended the use of a committee rule to avoid having to meet a two-member quorum of Republicans and the lack of an EPA study of the bill. Still, a group of moderate Republicans criticized the maneuver, including Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who labeled it foolhardy and said it would foreclose "any possibility of Republican support." Boxer was quoted as saying she was "not worried" by the criticism.
Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, told the Houston Chronicle "the Democrats have disregarded government transparency and overridden Senate rules to push through their cap-and-trade legislation."
Greenwire reported that EEI would "push during the Senate debate for a larger share of emission allowances, as well as 'achievable emission targets and timetables that are aligned with the availability of climate-friendly technologies, a moderate price collar, and an adequate pool of offsets'."
Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., was quoted as saying: "I am disappointed that Senator Boxer and the Democrats have reported another 1,000-page bill without a full understanding of what it will cost. Republicans want and expect to participate in any bill about clean energy, but taxpayers expect us to know what this bill costs before we start voting on it."
- Related stories also appeared in Bloomberg, Dow Jones Newswires, New York Times, Reuters, Nov. 5.
About Me
- Smart Climate Policy News Update
The Edison Electric Institute (EEI) is proud to sponsor the Smart Climate Policy blog and Web site - www.SmartClimatePolicy.org.
Organized in 1933, EEI is the association of U.S. shareholder-owned electric companies.
Our members serve 95 percent of the ultimate customers in the shareholder-owned segment of the industry, and represent approximately 70 percent of the U.S. electric power industry. We also have more than 65 International electric companies as Affiliate members, and more than 170 industry suppliers and related organizations as Associate members.