Moderate Democrats Move Toward Support for Climate Bill

House and Senate Democrats from coal and industrial states expressed an increasing willingness to back climate change legislation as a measure that would not necessarily hurt their state's economies, Congressional Quarterly Weekly [no link, subscription required] reported. Sens. John D. Rockefeller IV, D-W.Va., and Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., led the shift from skepticism about a bill as recently as last year.

Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., said the statement by Byrd acknowledging "that some form of climate legislation will likely become public policy because most American voters want a healthier environment" was "a game-changer" for the climate issue. Rockefeller said he was telling coal miners that "there's going to be a bill" and was working to convince them that a bill would be preferable to EPA regulation and the possibility of utilities abandoning coal for natural gas.

Michigan senators were joining the shift toward support for a bill, with Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., declaring that "whether it's about energy security or jobs creation, these issues will not go away. It's time to act."

West Virginia Coal Association President Bill Raney was quoted as saying of Rockefeller: "The assurances have been given by the senator that he will do everything possible to protect the use of coal and mining. He says he'll get the best deal for us. But we don't know how that can happen."