Republicans lose show down over climate bill

June 26, 4:35 PMSeattle Environmental Policy ExaminerJean Williams

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In spite of a speech by Republican house minority Boehner that went on for hours, as he complained about the climate legislation, going through amendments page by page, the show down came to an end when the bill passed by 219-212.

The American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES) is legislation that will regulate for the first time, carbon dioxide and other greenhouse pollutants using a cap and trade system that is designed to reduce carbon emissions by 17% by 2020 and 83% by 2050, from 2005 levels.

President Obama did not wait anxiously by the phone to hear the results of the vote. He was busy meeting with the chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel, to discuss global warming and Iran, while shrugging off demands for an apology by Iran’s questionable president, Ahmadinejad.

Obama’s statement on the Waxman-Markey bill:

“It is legislation that will finally spark a clean energy transformation that will reduce our dependence on foreign oil, confront the carbon pollution that threatens our planet, and create millions of clean jobs."

Earlier this week, House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) announced he had struck a deal with Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson (D-Minn.), who led negotiations to alleviate costs for farmers. The compromise will delay the Environmental Protection Agency from drafting regulations on the industry and will deliver oversight of potentially lucrative projects to the Agriculture Department designed to reduce C02. As a result, Peterson was expected to vote to pass the legislation.

Not all Democrats voted for the bill, including Rep. Walt Minnick (D-ID of Boise, who voted “no”. However, Rep. Jay Inslee (D-WA) was strongly influential in getting the bill passed through the Energy and Commerce committee and was a definite “yes” vote.  Also, voting "yea" was Rep.Adam Smith (D-Wa) another member environmental leader for Washington state.

Several members of the house were absent, including John Sullivan (R-Ok) and Jeff Flake (R-AZ), but Patrick Kennedy returned to the floor to give his “yes” vote on the bill, after spending several weeks in rehab for alcohol addiction.

Republicans are not the only ones unhappy about the bill. Many environmental groups don’t believe it is aggressive enough to help avoid catastrophic climate and global warming ramifications and had petitioned for stronger restrictions.

Still, other environmental groups and conservation organizations supported getting the bill passed and see it as a vital move forward from eight years of the Bush Administration’s climate and energy indifference.

Now, the bill will move to the senate floor and is expected to be addressed in the next few 6-8 weeks. President Obama has asked for a climate bill to be passed and signed by him well in advance of the climate meeting in Copenhagen in December of this year. 
 

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Run cursor over photo for credit* Copyright Jean Williams 2009* contact creatinggreenpiece@juno.com