Four Democratic senators want to delay cap and trade bill

Four Democratic senators want to put off the proposed cap & trade legislation. Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas, Ben Nelson of Nebraska and Byron Dorgan and Kent Conrad both of North Dakota are urging the Senate to delay legislation that puts caps on greenhouse gas emissions and instead, pass a narrow bill that sets requirements on the use of renewable energy.

Senators Lincoln and Dorgan are up for re-election in 2010 and are from states that would be hurt economically from a cap and trade bill similar to the one passed by the House in June.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D. NV) does not want to separate the climate and energy legislation. “I don’t think we are going to take to the Senate floor a bill stripped of climate provisions,” said Reid, quoted in Bloomberg.

Getting the required 60 votes in the Senate could be a challenge for the Democrats. Most Republicans have stated that they oppose it. Fifteen Democrats say the House version would hurt the economy and needs to be amended before gaining their support.

If, however, the Senate abandons its efforts to pass cap and trade regulation this year, the EPA could step back in. This past Spring, the EPA determined that it has the authority to regulate CO2 under the Clean Air Act, but put any regulations on hold while cap and trade legislation was alive in Congress.

Further reading:

See article about the EPA’s plan for CO2 regulation at http://greenlegals.com/2009/06/epa’s-plan-for-full-employment-for-lawyers/

See also  http://www.examiner.com/x-17018-Environmental-Headlines-Examiner~y2009m8d13-Cap--trade-news-from-the-Australian-Senate-and-the-US-Senate

http://greenlegals.com/2009/08/cap-trade-a-tale-of-two-senates/

Photo: R. Manny

Photo: AP/U.S. Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., speaks during an aviation industry forum at a Dassault Falcon hangar in Little Rock, Ark., Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2009. (AP Photo/Danny Johnston)

Copyright 2009 - K.J.Collins