Arlen Specter
-
As Specter moves to Democratic Party, will he help pass a climate bill?
Washington is buzzing about Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter’s surprise switch to the Democratic Party on Tuesday, a move that will likely give Dems enough votes to overcome filibusters. Specter, a moderate who sits on the Senate Environment and Public Works committee, has been considered a key swing vote on climate and energy, among other issues. […]
-
What does Specter’s party switch mean for climate and energy?
The big news today is Sen. Arlen Specter’s announcement that he’ll be switching parties from Republican to Democrat. For the best analysis of why he did it (basically, he was fated to lose the upcoming primary), see Eric Kleefeld at TPM. The boss man asked me to weigh in from Paris on what it might […]
-
Arlen Specter proclaims importance of fighting climate change in Bali; votes against it in D.C.
In a letter to the president (PDF), 52 members of Congress expressed their disapproval of the U.S. stance in Bali: The clear implication is that the United States will refuse to agree to any language putting the United States on an established path toward scientifically-based emission limits … We write to express our strong disagreement […]
-
Judiciary committee chair to question SCOTUS nominee about commerce clause
Those who read our piece on Supreme Court nominee John Roberts know that one of greens' principle concerns about him is his interpretation of the commerce clause. In short, the commerce clause, which gives Congress the right to regulate interstate commerce, has been broadly interpreted and used as the foundation for a great deal of important environmental legislation. If SCOTUS chooses to interpret it more narrowly, much of that legislation could be challenged. (This is what was at stake in the case of the "hapless toad that, for reasons of its own, lives its entire life in California" -- i.e., doesn't cross state lines.)
Meanwhile: Arlen Specter (R-Penn.), chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, is sick and tired of SCOTUS questioning -- nay, mocking! -- the reasoning Congress uses to pass laws. He just sent Roberts a letter saying as much: "members of Congress are irate about the Court's denigrating and, really, disrespectful statements about Congress's competence." Denigrating and disrespectful statements about Congress! Say it ain't so.
In particular, Specter asked Roberts about his his opinion of two cases -- U.S. v. Lopez and U.S. v. Morrison -- that turned on the commerce clause. (Both were narrow judgments finding that Congress had overreached.)
Why should you care about this? Well, Specter says he plans on asking Roberts about this stuff at his confirmation hearings. And that's somewhat surprising -- Republican leadership had been saying that Roberts shouldn't have to answer questions on individual issues. (I'd be curious to find out if Specter is off the reservation about this.) So while ineffectual Democrats will have no luck finding out what Roberts really thinks about an issue central to environmental legislation, Specter might just find out for them.
(You can read more about this, and Specter's letter, on Greenwire if you have a paid subscription, which you probably don't.)
-
The Next Asbestos Thing
Specter pushing asbestos-claims bill that would create trust fund Amid a continuing flood of lawsuits against the allegedly cancer-causing asbestos industry, the new chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), has drafted a bill to try to stem the flow. Specter’s legislation would establish a trust fund into which asbestos companies would pay […]
-
Irrelevance: The New Relevance
How did the environment play in the election? Funny you should ask … Remember all that earnest debate about whether environmental issues would play a significant role in the presidential election? Well, as it turns out … not so much. And in the Senate races we’d been keeping an eye on, one would also be […]