legislation

Boxer op-ed argues the Climate Security Act vote was a big step forward

Environment and Public Works Committee Chair Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) wrote an op-ed in today’s San Jose Mercury News on the failed Climate Security Act that she championed in the Senate. In it, she argues that last week’s vote was an important advancement. “[O]ur strong vote proves that we are moving in the right direction,” she […]

Last, best hope for clean energy tax incentives

For the past six months, Congress has been squabbling over how to pay for a package of expiring clean energy tax incentives. These incentives, which will phase out in December, are bringing down the cost of manufacturing, building, and installing renewable energy systems and energy-efficient products. A multitude of bills have been introduced by both parties, in both chambers, and all have failed.

The last, best hope for this year is H.R. 6049. This bill passed the House on May 21 by a bipartisan vote of 263 to 160, and will be voted on in the Senate as early as Thursday. Partisan lines are being drawn in the Senate already, and the president has threatened to veto this bill. If you want to help end this stalemate, please consider sending a letter to the editor of your local paper. The more voices speaking out on this issue, the better our chance at ending this protracted impasse. Take action here.

Swing-vote Democrats explain why they oppose the Climate Security Act

On Friday, 10 Democratic senators wrote a letter [PDF] to Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) outlining the reasons why they would not have voted in favor of the Climate Security Act. Democratic leaders pulled the bill from the floor last week after it failed to muster enough votes to move forward. […]

Quick post-mortem on Lieberman-Warner

A quick post-mortem on this week's vote on the Climate Security Act, which was pulled from the Senate floor on Friday after its sponsors fell short of the 60 votes needed to proceed to final debate. I think I can safely sum it up in one word: progress.

McCain says Reid chose ‘to put politics above policy’

McCain's statement on Lieberman-Warner said this:

... it appears that for now, the Senate, at the direction of the Majority Leader, will choose to put politics above policy, and Congress will fail to act yet again on this critical issue.

You cannot be serious! The people who put politics above policy were McCain's fellow conservatives, who

• Forced 30 hours of pointless debate
• Forced a 9-hour reading of the bill
• Demagogued the gasoline and energy price issue over and over again
• Denied the reality of climate science
• Voted to block the bill from moving forward

That's why Congress failed to act. And, of course, Bush said he would veto the bill anyway. Where or when did the straight talk express derail?

This post was created for ClimateProgress.org, a project of the Center for American Progress Action Fund.

Post-post mortem on Boxer-Lieberman-Warner debate

OK, so the long-dead B-L-W bill got propped up and dragged around for a few days. (Tagline: B-L-W may be dead, but it's the life of the party!) But I think the debate was quite useful for two reasons:

1. The opponents of (even modest) action played and overplayed their cards. Now we know that the health and well-being of future generations is of no interest in them. Now we know what their primary arguments will be. This is the opportunity for progressives and moderates and hopefully President Obama to design a better messaging strategy -- and to get pro cap-and-trade businesses to weigh in.
2. The many flaws in the bill (other than the fact it wouldn't actually save the climate) were exposed: not enough money returned to taxpayers, too much money given away to too many groups, too complicated, your flaw here -- I'd very much like to hear your ideas for how the bill could be simplified and improved.

I will be offering my recommendations for what a better bill would look like later this month. Clearly, the bill should be designed to achieve more reductions and to be easier to explain and defend.

After all, the original Weekend at Bernie's was kind of fun and made money. But did anybody actually see (and enjoy) Weekend at Bernie's 2? We don't want a lame remake next year.

McCain says he hearts Everglades, despite opposing bill with restoration funding

Sen. John McCain swung through Florida last week, taking time for a boat tour of the Everglades on Friday. The Obama campaign promptly criticized McCain for his opposition last year to a water bill that included major funding for Everglades restoration. McCain said he would have supported a stand-alone Everglades bill, but the broader water […]

Lieberman-Warner’s failure this year underdetermines next year’s efforts

I suppose as an enviro-blogger I’m supposed to have something insightful to say about the death of the Lieberman-Warner bill. Yet I find myself strangely apathetic. So much buildup, so much debate, and then … hell, it was just another Republican filibuster. Why did I waste all those brain cells in the first place? It’s […]

Top Senate recipients of fossil-fuel money behind climate-bill stall tactics

The good folks over at Muckety.com (maybe we’re long-lost cousins …) put together an awesome interactive map detailing the connections between the fossil-fuel industries and some of the folks behind the death of climate legislation in the Senate this week. Check it out: Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), the Senate’s leading climate-change denier, is also a […]