It sure seemed to me that passage was inevitable, going in. And after I heard Sen. Sanders’ new tone, it seemed even more likely that L-W would be passed by the Environment and Public Works committee today.
Over at Politico, Ryan Grim points to the first amendment — the “offramp” amendment — which failed 11-8:
The full Senate Committee on the Environment and Public Works appears poised to pass the Lieberman-Warner climate change bill. The first of more than 180 amendments that have been filed dealt with one of the most contentious issues — whether U.S. legislation would sunset if China and India didn’t follow suit.
It was seen by both sides as a bellwether of the final vote. It passed 11-8, with Sen. John Warner (R-Va.) joining all nine Democrats — including Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) by proxy — as well as independent Democrat Joe Lieberman of Connecticut.
The committee chairwoman, Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) warned early that the mark-up, starting today, could go for as long as three days, but passage of this major and controversial legislation through committee now seems inevitable.
