The compromise climate change bill due to be unveiled today in the US Senate has been indefinately delayed due to a dust-up over immigration reform.
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, who has been working on the bill with Democrat John Kerry and Independent Joe Lieberman, backed away from the bill this weekend, after Senate majority leader Harry Reid suggested his party may prioritize immigration reform ahead of the climate legislation.
According to some reports, Reid faces a tough relection bid this November, and the immigration issue is likely to win him points with the state’s hispanic voters. However, Arizona’s tough new immigration law signed by Republican governor Jan Brewer his also responsible for pushing the issue up the priority list.
According to a Politico report, Graham is angered by what he called a "cynical political ploy," and he doesn’t want to see months of work on the climate bill go to waste. He is the link needed to bring Republican votes to the bill, and by pulling his support, he hopes to win assurances that the bill will be taken up in the weeks ahead.
It is widely accepted that Congress will only have time to address one more major piece of legislation before the fall elections. Immigration is an issue at least as big as health care, and it’s unlikely that it could reach a vote in just a few month. Graham is right that climate legislation is much farther along in the process, with the House having already passed a version last summer.
The Boston Globe reported that Graham, Kerry and Lieberman will meet tonight to discuss the legislation and the current situation. Kerry has said that 2010 is the "last and best shot" to pass climate change legislation. Democrats are expected to lose seats in the Senate in November elections, creating a tougher legislative environment, and at the same time, the US must respond quickly in order to capitalize on momentum built up in international negotiations for a climate change treaty. And, of course, scientists say there is a small window of time for developing nations to reverse the increase of greenhouse gas emissions.
However, it’s not clear that the compromise bill worked out between these three Senators would be a step in the right direction for the environment. Greenpeace officially denouced the bill on Friday, stating: "Although we appreciate the Senate’s efforts to reduce global warming pollution, it’s clear that polluter lobbyists have succeeded in hijacking this climate policy initiative and undermined the ambitious action necessary."
Other environmental groups have stated serious concerns for the compromise measure, which is beginning to look like a huge giveaway for the fossil fuel and nuclear power industries. According to a Washington Post story published last week, BP (NYSE: BP), ConocoPhilips (NYSE: COP) and Shell (NYSE: RDSA) have pledged their support to the bill–indicating it would have a good chance of passing, but also that it is a far cry from what staunch clean energy supporters would like to see.
Also, The Hill reports that sources familiar with the negotiations say the bill would pre-empt state and regional greenhouse gas rules and block the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act.
Read additional Reuters coverage at the link below.
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