climate bill

climate bill

During the meeting, Pelosi and Reid discussed which bills the Senate might be able to pass this year, according to one House Democratic leadership aide. The aide said that Pelosi told Reid "if you can do immigration first, that's fine."

"It was all about what they (the Senate) can get done," added the aide, who asked not to be identified.

Drew Hammill, a spokesman for Pelosi, said she was "fully committed to getting a comprehensive energy and climate bill" passed this year.

An immigration debate could dominate the Senate for several weeks or months, whether or not it comes to a final vote. This could occur at the very time that proponents of climate-change legislation had hoped the Senate focus would be on their bill.

The immigration reform legislation aims to toughen border security and update the process for admitting temporary workers while also providing a path for citizenship for the 11 million people in the United States illegally, most of them Hispanics.

Tens of thousands of people rallied last month in Washington to demand immigration reform.

Climate-control legislation aims to bring the United States into a global effort to reduce emissions of so-called greenhouse gases blamed for global warming.

Both bills are seen as long-shots for passage this year.

Another senior House Democratic aide, who asked not to be identified, said that both Pelosi and Reid talked about the importance of passing immigration reform this year.

"I don't remember there being a real conversation" on climate legislation during Tuesday's meeting, the aide added.

Jennifer Duffy, who tracks Senate races for the non-partisan Cook Political Report, said turning to immigration reform next would rev up the liberal Democratic base, as well as the conservative Republican base in opposition.

'TIME TO DO IT'

With Hispanic groups clamoring for a fresh push on immigration reform, Reid must decide which bill to focus upon after the Senate finishes landmark financial industry reforms.

Reid himself is facing a difficult re-election bid in November in his home state of Nevada. At a rally this month in Las Vegas, Reid noted that Congress had just wrapped up a "Herculean effort" on healthcare reform and said "now it's time to do it all over again" on immigration reform.

Hispanics were key to President Barack Obama winning Nevada in the 2008 presidential election and may determine if Reid wins a fifth six-year term in the Senate in November.

With no action in Congress on immigration since Obama took office, the Democratic Party is fearing a political backlash from Hispanics, who largely vote Democratic.

But making immigration reform the next priority could be at odds with Obama, who last week said he thought energy and climate-change legislation should take center stage after Congress finishes the upcoming financial reform debate.

Senator Lindsey Graham, a Republican point man on both immigration and climate control, told reporters that the Senate was not prepared to debate immigration reform this year.

"I think we ought to take it up next year with the new Congress," Graham said.

Asked why Reid is now pushing it, Graham said, "I think it's because he is in an election and he has a big Hispanic vote, and they (Democrats) made promises" to revamp immigration laws this year.

It is unclear what would happen to the climate-change legislation if Reid turns to immigration reform, Graham said.

The House already has passed climate-control legislation. The Senate is awaiting the unveiling, scheduled for Monday, of a compromise measure being written by Graham along with Democrat John Kerry and independent Joseph Lieberman.

Environmentalists hope the climate bill takes center stage in June or July, a time frame seen as a last chance this year for its passage.

Many Republicans have criticized the climate-change measure that forces electric power utilities, refineries and factories to reduce their carbon emissions, which come from burning fossil fuels, as little more than a national energy tax.

Democrats control the House and Senate by large margins, but fear that their majority could be greatly diminished after November's elections in which all 435 House seats are up for grabs along with 36 of 100 Senate seats.


A carefully crafted compromise on climate change that narrowly passed in the House last June has been stuck for almost a year in the Senate. Now, with three senators set to unveil their own bill Monday and a floor vote possible this spring or early summer, House lawmakers are wondering whether there will be a significant effort to negotiate major differences between the two proposals or if they will be asked to simply approve the Senate version.

There is no guarantee that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) can even notch 60 votes to pass such a sweeping measure during a midterm election year. But if he does, some House Democrats say they would not be surprised if they were asked to buckle in conference negotiations.

"That's what the Senate always does to us," said Rep. Gene Green (D-Texas), who voted last year for the House bill (H.R. 2454 (pdf)) but who has been forced onto the defensive in his Houston-area district ever since, where constituents in the oil and gas sector did not get everything they had requested.

Several major differences are expected between the House and Senate bills, such as a carbon pricing system that deals with various sectors of the economy in different ways, rather than the House's all-inclusive approach. A scaled-back carbon-pricing plan opens the door to lawmakers close to the major oil companies, which originally came up with the idea as a way to avoid being included in a large, economywide cap-and-trade system.

The Senate bill is also expected to include language to promote offshore oil and gas drilling, and help with the expansion of nuclear power. Moderate House Democrats who struggled with last year's climate vote may find those changes appealing, especially if provisions are added that sell back home to a public increasingly open to new energy exploration and also if it puts a hard clamp on the global warming program's costs.

The Senate sponsors, John Kerry (D-Mass.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), hope their compromises can win over Republicans and major industry groups like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which loudly opposed the House bill. But looking across the Capitol, the senators say any talk of a final compromise with the House is premature while they remain knee-deep in negotiations to build their own successful coalition.

"I have fantasies of reaching that point," Lieberman said last month. "Or as my mother would say, 'That should be our biggest problem.'"

"At this point, with something that is this complicated, you have to take it one step at a time," said Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), who is leading efforts to help manufacturing state Democrats on trade, economic costs and other industry-friendly ideas.

Still, the conference question looms, especially given the dwindling time that is left before everything must start all over again in a new Congress that election pundits predict will include more Republicans, if not a complete switch in party control.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said last week he would like to maintain "regular order" on the climate and energy bill, citing the bruising health care debate that culminated last month when the House adopted the Senate's proposal with a few key tweaks handled through the fast-track budget reconciliation process.

"My inclination would be to go to conference and work out the differences between the bills," Hoyer said.

Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), who co-sponsored the House bill with Energy and Commerce Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), also is holding firm to the idea the House would have a say in any bill that makes it out of the Senate negotiations.

"I think the bill may be different, and then in the conference committee we can work to find a final formula," said Markey, who met with Kerry and Waxman last week. "Their goal is to find the 60 votes that are needed. I am going to leave it to Senators Kerry, Graham and Lieberman to find a formula that is necessary to accomplish that goal."

House Republicans are doubtful the Senate can even get 60 votes on their climate bill. But if Reid does pull it off, they predict House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) would delay the final conference negotiations until after midterm elections to avoid forcing her members to take what has already been dubbed a politically difficult vote.


WASHINGTON -- Long-awaited climate change legislation was put on hold by its authors Saturday when a dispute over immigration politics and Senate priorities threatened to unravel a bipartisan effort that took months of work.

Voicing regrets, Sen. John Kerry said Saturday he is postponing the much anticipated unveiling of comprehensive energy and climate change legislation scheduled for Monday. The Massachusetts Democrat made his announcement after a key partner in drafting the bill, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, threatened to withhold support if Senate Democratic leaders push ahead first with an immigration bill.

Graham is angry that Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada is considering that. Legislation to overhaul immigration laws and grant legal status to millions of long term immigrants unlawfully in the country could create problems for Republicans in the midterm elections. It's a top priority for Hispanic voters -- and most Republicans are opposed. Reid's idea amounts to a "cynical political ploy," Graham asserted.

Kerry tried to assure environmentalists and other backers of the climate bill that the delay will be short. The legislation aims to cut emissions of pollution-causing greenhouse gases 17 percent below 2005 levels by 2020. It also likely will expand domestic production of oil, natural gas and nuclear power.

"We all believe that this year is our best and perhaps last chance for Congress to pass a comprehensive approach," Kerry said in a statement. "Regrettably, external issues have arisen that force us to postpone only temporarily."

Kerry, Graham and Connecticut independent Sen. Joe Lieberman have spent more than six months working on the bill they had hoped to unveil Monday. White House energy adviser Carol Browner praised the three senators, reiterating that the Obama administration wants the energy and climate bill done this year.

Graham's threat to back away from the coalition came Saturday in a letter to Senate leaders.
He said putting immigration at the top of the legislative priority list would derail efforts to find common ground on climate change, a difficult issue involving critically important economic priorities. And he warned that Republican lawmakers would not take kindly to being put on the spot with Hispanics. Many in the Republican Party's political base are adamantly opposed to 'amnesty' for illegal immigrants.

"Moving forward on immigration -- in this hurried, panicked manner -- is nothing more than a cynical political ploy," Graham said. "Let's be clear, a phony, political effort on immigration today accomplishes nothing but making it exponentially more difficult to address in a serious, comprehensive manner in the future."

Kerry praised Graham's work on the climate legislation, saying the Republican "helped to build an unprecendented coalition of stakeholders from the environmental community and the industry who have been prepared to stand together behind a proposal."

He and Lieberman "deeply regret that (Graham) feels immigration politics have gotten in the way and for now prevent him from being engaged in the way he intended," Kerry said.

Pushing immigration ahead of climate legislation would disappoint and anger environmentalists, who see this as their best chance in recent years to pass a bill addressing global warming. But Reid told fellow Democrats this week he wants to pursue legislation that would offer legal status to many unlawful immigrants before tackling climate change.

Hispanics voted heavily Democratic in 2008, and they've been disappointed with President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats for not following up on campaign promises to reform immigration laws. Reid is up for re-election this year and trailing in polls in Nevada, where Latinos are an important constituency. With Democrats facing a tough political climate in the midterm elections, energized Hispanic voters could make a difference in several states.

In a statement Saturday that was both conciliatory and noncommittal, Reid said he is committed to passing both immigration and energy this year.

"Immigration and energy reform are equally vital to our economic and national security and have been ignored for far too long," he said.

Both measures will require bipartisan support, Reid said, "and energy could be next if it's ready." Comprehensive immigration reform requires significant committee work that has not yet begun, he noted.

Reid said he appreciates Graham's work on both issues, but added: "I will not allow him to play one issue off of another, and neither will the American people. They expect us to do both, and they will not accept the notion that trying to act on one is an excuse for not acting on the other."
A spokesman said Reid would continue to consult with Kerry on building bipartisan support for a climate bill.

The House last year narrowly passed a bill creating a system to cap emissions blamed for global warming, but has not acted on immigration. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has long said the Senate must vote before the House on an immigration bill.


On April 22, 1970, millions of demonstrators across the United States took to the streets for the first annual Earth Day, a protest against what some called environmental deterioration.

Landmarks go dark across the globe to raise awareness of climate change.

Since then, Earth Day has become an international event, celebrated by millions to remind the world of the urgency of saving the environment. But as the 40th Earth Day approaches this week, the movement's momentum has yet to deliver new comprehensive energy legislation from the United States Congress.

The House of Representatives in June passed the "American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009," a controversial cap and trade bill that imposed restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants.

Cap and trade rules let companies legally exceed emission limits by letting them trade or buy credits from other companies who pollute less.

A more stringent yet bipartisan bill introduced in the Senate, however, got little traction, and was eventually sidelined by the health care debate.

Now, senators are hoping to pick the momentum back up with a new set of proposals that addresses some of the criticisms of the earlier bill, and could nix cap and trade altogether.

Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., will release a new climate bill a week from today that aims to implement a national program to reduce carbon emissions by around 17 percent in the next ten years, and 80 percent by 2050. The bill will go sector by sector, starting with utilities that will have to phase out emissions by 2012, manufacturing by 2016, followed by transportation and other industries. Tax credits and rebates will be provided based on the state and its socio-economics.

Details of the tightly sealed program remain murky. Supporters are hoping the bipartisan effort will jolt enthusiasm on the much-awaited climate bill.

The bill is a "missing piece. It puts a whole infusion of new energy into the legislative process. We are very excited about it," said Maggie L. Fox, president and chief executive of Alliance for Climate Protection, an environment organization founded by former vice president Al Gore.

But Democrats -- fresh from their decisive battle over health care overhaul and now facing hurdles in financial reform -- may have little political capital left to spare for this hot-button topic.


"The whole issue of cap and trade has become this symbolic kind of silliness. When issues get into that mindset on the Hill, it's easier not to do something than to do something," said Steven Cohen, executive director of The Earth Institute at Columbia University. "I don't know that they're going to get the attention they need and the political emphasis to get this through."

Even if the bill were to pass the Senate, it would have to be voted on again by House members if changes are made. Many of the Democrats who voted for the climate legislation last year are much more wary now in the face of tough reelection battles in their home states. And at a time when climate change may not be as high on Americans' agenda as other worries, some may choose to avoid this sticky issue altogether.

The urgency of the global warming threat has waned slightly among Americans. A poll by Gallup last month showed that 48 percent believed that the seriousness of global warming is generally exaggerated, up from 41 percent in 2009 and 31 percent in 1997.

However, Americans are worried about domestic jobs, and supporters say the bill will help boost the economy and employment.

"I think that's what's really going to excite people," Kerry told Politico.

"When you take care of these kinds of issues you create wealth that creates economic opportunity," Cohen said. "This idea that somehow global warming is going to be good for the economy is silly."


Measure could affect states' climate control activities (Adds reaction from American Petroleum Institute)

By Richard Cowan

WASHINGTON, April 15 (Reuters) - A long-awaited compromise bill to reduce U.S. emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases blamed for global warming will be unveiled by a group of senators on April 26, sources said on Thursday.

The legislative language to be sketched out in 11 days, according to government and environmental sources, is being drafted by Democratic Senator John Kerry, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham and independent Senator Joseph Lieberman.

Backers of the environmental bill hope the unveiling will pave the way for the full Senate to debate and pass a measure in June or July if the compromise attracts enough support from a group of moderate Republicans and Democrats.

Republican Senator Judd Gregg told Reuters he was "committed to getting something that addresses our energy needs in a constructive and comprehensive way." He added he did not know yet whether he would support the bill being developed.

President Barack Obama has made climate change one of his top priorities and took steps recently to show Republicans he was serious, including expanding federal aid for building nuclear power facilities and allowing more domestic offshore oil drilling -- initiatives to be included in the Senate compromise.

The White House is also eager to show the rest of the world the United States is ready to take a leadership role on global warming, including to help kick-start stalled international efforts to tackle the problem.

Despite vocal climate change skeptics in the United States, leading scientific groups have been hoping the United States, the biggest emitter of greenhouse gases after China, would take action.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported on Thursday the world's combined land and ocean surface temperatures in March were the hottest on record.

Once the senators formally sketch out their bill, Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid will decide the next steps in a year crowded with competing legislative priorities and congressional elections in November.

The bill could face stiff opposition from lawmakers in states with economies heavily dependent on oil and coal.

Lou Hayden, a policy expert at the American Petroleum Institute, said his group would not support the bill unless it went through an economic analysis by the Energy Information Administration, an independent arm of the Energy Department.

The bill is already slated to be analyzed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Congressional Budget Office, which could take more than a month.

BILL MIGHT END STATE/REGIONAL CARBON TRADE PROGRAMS

Kerry, Lieberman and Graham have been working for months on a global warming compromise significantly different from a measure passed last year by the House of Representatives and a bill approved by the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. It also takes many elements from those bills.

Like the House-passed bill and Obama administration policy, it would set a target of 17 percent reductions in smokestack emissions of carbon dioxide by 2020, from 2005 levels.

Point Carbon, an energy markets consulting service, estimated the anticipated Senate bill would result in U.S. gasoline prices rising an average of 27 cents a gallon from 2013 to 2020. The bill is expected to contain a fee on motor fuels.

On Wednesday, a Senate source told Reuters the legislation would prohibit the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating carbon dioxide emissions. It would also end state and regional carbon-trading programs, such as the one several Northeastern states participate in, to be replaced by a national carbon reduction policy. [N14150360]

The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, with 10 participating states from Vermont to Maryland, has raised over $582 million for state efficiency and climate programs, said Environment Northeast, a Boston research group.

Peter Shattuck, a carbon markets policy analyst there, said shutting the program could create concerns among the states over lost revenues.

A group of nine senators, mostly from Midwestern manufacturing states, urged Kerry, Graham and Lieberman in a letter on Thursday to take into account jobs in their states.

"Without such a plan, we are concerned that the legislation will ultimately be unsuccessful," Ohio Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown and others wrote. (Additional reporting by Timothy Gardner in Washington and Ros Krasny in Boston; Editing by Peter Cooney)


Details are beginning to leak out about the climate bill, after weeks of closed-door negotiations among key Senate lawmakers and staff.


Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) spent the past week presenting an eight-page outline of the bill to key business groups, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the American Petroleum Institute.

But the bill provides a weaker cap on greenhouse gas emissions than many environmentalists had hoped. And it’s chock-full of sweeteners for coal, oil, offshore drilling and nuclear power — energy sources viewed with some skepticism in the environmental community but seen as key to picking up the votes of a handful of moderate Republicans.


“We’re not restricting our pool of potential votes to only Democrats,” said Kerry.


Those types of trade-offs, lawmakers said, are necessary to build the political support to move the bill through the Senate.


“We don’t have 60 votes to pass a strong global warming bill,” Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said. “The choice I suspect Sen. Kerry is wrestling with is whether it’s better to do something or nothing.”


On Tuesday, the three members briefed a group of lawmakers who’ve spent months working on the various iterations of the bill.


They hope to send a draft of their proposal to the Environmental Protection Agency by the end of this week. The agency needs six to eight weeks to do an economic analysis of the bill, according to administration officials.


Graham told POLITICO that the proposal mirrors the Markey-Waxman legislation that passed the House last June by putting an economywide cap on greenhouse gas emissions starting in 2012 — with the goal of reducing pollution 17 percent by 2020 and 80 percent by 2050.


But unlike the House bill, the Senate proposal puts
different kinds of limits on different industries.


Separate caps are put on utilities and manufacturers that will have to buy and trade pollution allowances from the government, according to people briefed on the bill. A “hard collar” is put on the price of the allowances to prevent them from dropping below $10 per ton. If the price exceeds more than $30 per ton, the government will flood the market from a strategic reserve of 4 billion credits. The price is indexed to inflation and increases at a set rate.


Manufacturers will be phased into the cap by 2016 to give fossil-fuel-intensive industries such as paper, aluminum and steel time to adjust to the new system. In a letter he sent to Kerry earlier this month, Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) asked that the cap be delayed at least 10 years for manufacturers.


The legislation also tries to protect those industries from foreign competition by levying a “carbon tariff” on imports of goods from countries, such as China and India, that do not regulate emissions. The proposal was drafted by manufacturing-state Democrats, who refused to support the legislation unless it protected trade-sensitive industries from foreign competition.