Post by
no1coalking on Mar 12, 2008 1:15pm
Climate Boxed:
CLIMATE: Boxer pledges to pull cap-and-trade bill if 'weakening amendments' are added (03/12/2008)
Darren Samuelsohn, Greenwire senior reporter
Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) offered an early glimpse into her springtime Senate floor strategy on a major global warming bill, pledging to punt the issue into 2009 if any amendments get added that weaken the legislation.
"I'm willing to settle for the necessary, no less," Boxer, the chairwoman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, told reporters at a press conference today on Capitol Hill. "So if it isn't a good bill, it isn't going to happen. The reason it isn't going to happen is because we think, looking ahead, we're going to have a stronger Senate, a stronger House and a stronger president on this issue. So we have the leverage right now."
Asked what amendments would prompt her decision to pull the legislation, Boxer replied, "I'm not going to give people ideas. ... I'll know it when I see it on the floor. I'll say it, 'This is a weakening amendment. This is a poison pill.' We'll be very clear."
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) recently gave Boxer a green light to take up the climate legislation after Congress returns from its Memorial Day recess, Boxer said. But the three-term senator said she did not know how much floor time she would get to dedicate to the issue.
"We didn't really go there," she said. "We'll have as much time as we need."
Boxer stressed that she did not think significant floor time would be needed because the framework itself is already in the bill from Sens. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and John Warner (R-Va.). If anything, Boxer said she hoped to tack on amendments that strengthen the midcentury emission targets from around 70 percent to 80 percent.
And she also said she would support amendments that shift the underlying bill toward distributing more of its emission credits through an auction. Boxer also said she would try to add more direct funding for cities to help with transportation planning and energy efficiency.
Boxer, Lieberman, Warner and a number of environmental groups have been meeting with Senate offices since early this year in a campaign to win over 60 members -- the number needed to defeat a filibuster.
Asked how her whip count was going, Boxer replied, "I can't give you any number. We're still in the process of meeting with people. We're going to work on this one-on-one through April. The answer is, yes, we're picking up Republicans. Yes, we are. And we're picking up Democrats. These one-on-one conversations with colleagues are just going really well."
How well is another story.
"It's clear from Chairman Boxer's comments today that she does not anticipate being able to move this bill this year," said EPW ranking member James Inhofe (R-Okla.).
Inhofe, who questions the scientific evidence linking man-made emissions to climate change, poked directly at Boxer's plans. "As Chairman Boxer is aware, several amendments designed to protect the economy and to deploy low emission energy sources like nuclear are likely to pass during a floor debate. Even ardent supporters of cap-and-trade in the business community, notably Jim Rogers, CEO of Duke Energy, believe this bill is the wrong approach for America."
Enviro groups united?
Fifteen environmental groups joined Boxer at today's press conference, including top officials from the Sierra Club, the Natural Resources Defense Council, the League of Conservation Voters, the World Wildlife Fund and Environmental Defense.
"There are rumors circulating that environmental groups are divided," Boxer said. "That is not true. Environmental organizations are united. They want a necessary, strong bill. We are united and we're going to work to that goal."
Several of the environmental CEOs present stressed their desire for climate legislation to pass. "The longer we wait, the more expensive it will be," said Frances Beinecke, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council.
Sierra Club executive director Carl Pope said of the Lieberman-Warner proposal, "It is only a first step. We need to improve it."
But two environmental groups were noticeably absent from the press conference: Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth.
"While we have great respect for Senator Boxer and appreciate the leadership she is showing on global warming, it is premature to suggest that there is unity behind 'America's Climate Security Act' as introduced by Senators Lieberman and Warner," said John Passacantando, executive director of Greenpeace USA. "The legislation is more a reflection of the pitfalls of political compromise than a real solution to safeguard the planet."
Friends of the Earth Action President Brent Blackwelder said his group's opposition to the legislation "is not just strategic, it is also substantive."
The Lieberman-Warner plan does not push for sharp enough emission cuts and gives away too many free cap-and-trade emission credits to industry. "Additionally, Friends of the Earth Action strongly disagrees with the assertion that Senator John McCain supports a strong global warming bill," he said, referring to the presumptive Republican presidential nominee. "He does not yet support even this weak bill."