RESCUE OR RUIN FOR CLIMATE BILL?

Kerry, Graham, Lieberman announce a "dual track" on the climate bill
David Fahrenthold, November 4, 2009 (Washington Post)

"Even before a Senate committee could begin marking up the "Kerry-Boxer" climate bill, Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) himself announced a new "track" of negotiations over climate policy that makes his original bill look somewhat irrelevant.

"Kerry, appearing at the U.S. Capitol with Sens. Lindsay O. Graham (R-S.C.) and Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.), said the three legislators would work with business groups and the White House to forge a compromise climate measure that could get 60 votes in the Senate."

From climatebrad via YouTube

"These negotiations would be separate from the work that six different Senate committees are doing on climate legislation, including the markup that the Environment and Public Works committee was supposed to begin [but did not because]…Republican committee members, demanding more Environmental Protection Agency analysis of the bill's impacts, are boycotting that markup, so progress on the legislation has stalled."

Apparently not good enough - yet. (click to enlarge)

"Kerry said that the senators were not circumventing that committee's process or ignoring the bill being marked up…[but building on it]…Kerry gave few details about when he and the other senators would be done with their work…[He suggestion] that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) would meld the various climate proposals into a single bill is not a new one: with six committees working on related bills, Democrats have long said that someone would have to stitch them all together. But [the Kerry-Graham-Lieberman] announcement was an early, and stark, signal that the committee bills would not be the only things shaping the final product.

"Kerry, Graham and Lieberman offered few details about the elements of a climate bill they considered non-negotiable. Graham said that the bill should protect the climate, but also allow for more offshore drilling, an expansion of nuclear energy and an emphasis on "clean coal" technology. Asked if the group was committed to a "cap and trade" scheme, like the one used to reduce pollution in a bill passed by the House, Lieberman said yes, but noted that the scheme [is one of many elements that are negotiable]…"