DC Hill Update 1/05: With Health Care Passed, the Senate Can Take Up Climate and Energy this Spring

As Copenhagen's failure lingers, and the Senate calendar opens up (thanks to Senate passage of health care legislation), climate legislation is moving up on this spring's legislative agenda, alongside financial regulatory reform and/or potential jobs bills. 2010 is an important election year for many vulnerable members of Congress who are wary of losing their seats over the ambitious legislative agenda before them. For these vulnerable senators, the key to passing strong climate policy will be to couch the bill in terms of the economic benefits, and to pass it quickly.

Passing a strong climate and energy bill this spring will lay the foundation for new jobs, a more stable economy, and a successful global agreement on climate that finishes the job our leaders (barely) began last December in Copenhagen. 1Sky is driving a nation-wide call-in campaign to the Senate next Tuesday, January 12 – learn more and rally your lists to join the call-in campaign at www.1Sky.org/call-in. As we head into the new year, we’re also rallying influential constituencies in swing districts nationwide to pressure their senators, and maintaining our focus on urging more leadership from President Obama and his administration on the climate challenge.

1. Senate Climate Bill Update

On Christmas Eve, the health care bill passed the US Senate 60-39, thanks to a last-minute compromise with climate-swing Ben Nelson (D-NE). For any bill in this Congress, Senate passage is the biggest hurdle, but now the varying Senate and House health care versions need to be streamlined into one bill – a process that may take months, but won't stop action on other important issues.

In Copenhagen, Senator John Kerry (D-MA) reiterated his resolve to spearhead climate and clean energy legislation in this Congress. Before the UN conference, he told reporters that he hoped to pass a bill "by early spring." Senator Kerry will be working on a climate bill framework with Senators Lindsay Graham (R-SC) and Joe Lieberman (I-CT), while specific aspects of the bill are taken up by committees, like the Finance Committee that Senator Max Baucus (D-MT) chairs. Although he did not vote in favor of Kerry-Boxer bill in the Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, Senator Baucus has stated that "there's no doubt that this Congress is going to pass climate change legislation."

A recent Politico piece identifies a faction of moderate Democrats who are pushing to delay climate action, including Senators Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Kent Conrad (D-ND), Mark Pryor (D-AR), and Evan Bayh (D-IN). Their move to separate climate components from energy legislation is among the worst possible outcomes we could see in this Congress. 1Sky will be fighting for a strong clean energy and climate bill this spring that includes a cap on carbon, in addition to complementary policies that incentivize cleaner and more efficient energy technology.

In addition to the "dual track" process led by Senator Kerry to build on his EPW-passed bill, other climate proposals have been put forward as well:

• The CLEAR Act developed by Senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA), and Susan Collins (R-ME) has several positive dimensions as well as some drawbacks. On the positive side, Cantwell-Collins takes a stand against the high quantity of offset credits that can be substituted for clean energy investments, eliminates giveaways to fossil fuel industries – like Big Oil and Dirty Coal – or nuclear power, and does not interfere with existing Clean Air Act requirements that old dirty coal plants meet modern performance standards.

  Unfortunately, the Cantwell-Collins bill contains weak carbon reduction targets that fall well short of levels needed to prevent dangerous climate change and seal a strong global deal. 1Sky hopes that the best elements of the Cantwell-Collins bill will inform the work that other Senators are doing to build support for strong climate legislation, and urges all of Congress to design bills that will meet the increasingly ambitious science-based targets for reducing global warming pollution.

• Less encouraging alternate bills include a "power plant only" approach led by Senators George Voinovich (R-OH) and Dick Lugar (R-IN), and a "nuclear only" approach led by Senators Jim Webb (D-VA) and Lamar Alexander (R-TN). 1Sky supports an economy-wide bill that will reduce carbon pollution from all fossil fuels, and we do not think nuclear power investments are cost-effective or necessary for reducing emissions.

2. Senator Murkowski (R-AK) fights EPA climate ruling

The week before winter recess, Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) filed a resolution of disapproval seeking to overturn the EPA’s finding that greenhouse gasses are harmful to human health and welfare. Murkowski’s resolution flies in the face of the latest science, climate impacts, and a Supreme Court decision that mandates action by the EPA to reduce carbon pollution. The endangerment finding filed by the EPA means that one way or another, the U.S. will reduce its carbon pollution. EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson has made it very clear that she is supportive of Senate climate legislation that reduces climate pollution, but she is also moving forward in accordance with her legal obligations to implement some of the more effective Clean Air Act performance standards for automobiles and big polluters, like coal plants and oil refineries.

In addition to this resolution, Senator Murkowski managed to get a separate amendment included in an upcoming motion to raise the debt ceiling, scheduled for a vote January 20. This amendment would block the EPA from acting on their recently published "endangerment" finding. The amendment will require 60 votes to pass, and Senator Murkowski can pull the measure if she wishes. 1Sky is currently planning it’s response to these moves in collaboration with a range of allies.

3. Fall 2010 Elections Loom

According to Charlie Cook, of the Cook Political Report: "if [House] Democrats just hold the seats they ought to be able to hold but lose 100 percent of the 50 competitive races, they would still hang onto their majority by an eyelash."

On the Senate side, new analysis from Nate Silver of fivethirtyeight.com suggests that the four out of the most vulnerable five Senators are supporters of climate and clean energy policy. All the more reason to pass a strong bill sooner rather than later!

Prepared by Jason Kowalski from 1Sky’s policy team. Please direct questions or comments to jason@1sky.org.