TPMDC Cap-and-Trade
Cap-and-Trade
Republican Senate Candidate Attacks Opponent For Supporting Cap-And-Trade Plan HE Helped Write
Updated 6:45 p.m.
Republican Senate candidate Adam Hasner is attacking one of his primary opponents by linking him to a stalled cap-and-trade climate change law in Florida. That may sound like par for the course in GOP politics except for one small problem: Hasner co-sponsored that bill, and praised it publicly when it passed the state legislature.
In a press release attacking Republican candidate George Lemieux -- who already served in the Senate in an interim capacity after Sen. Mel Martinez (R-FL) resigned -- Hasner tied his opponent to a cap-and-trade initiative spearheaded by former Governor Charlie Crist.
Like many Republicans, though, Hasner knows a thing or two about supporting cap and trade in the pre-Obama era.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Adam Hasner, Cap-and-Trade, Climate Change, Environment, FL-SEN, George LeMieux, Republicans
Climate Change
Obama Calls Out 'Climate Change Deniers In Congress'
President Barack Obama
At a fundraiser in San Francisco Wednesday evening, President Obama took direct, and unusually blunt, aim at a faction in the U.S. Congress that played a major role in upending his plan to pass sweeping clean energy and climate change legislation.
"There are climate change deniers in Congress and when the economy gets tough, sometimes environmental issues drop from people's radar screens," Obama told about 200 guests at the Pacific Heights residence of internet billionaire Marc Benioff, according to an official transcript. "But I don't think there's any doubt that unless we are able to move forward in a serious way on clean energy that we're putting our children and our grandchildren at risk. So that's not yet done."
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Barack Obama, Cap-and-Trade, Climate Change, Democrats, Environment, Republicans, White House
Pres '12
Pawlenty: My Past Support For Cap-And-Trade 'Was Stupid' (AUDIO)
Former Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN)
Former Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN), who is exploring a run for president, is bluntly backing off from the progressive position he once took on cap-and-trade.
Pawlenty has stepped back from this position before, but now he's handling it as an apparent presidential candidate. MSNBC reports:
"Anybody who's going to run for this office who's been in an executive position or may run has got some clunkers in their record," he said on the Laura Ingraham Show. "As to climate change - or more specifically cap-and-trade - I've just come out and admitted and said, 'Look, it was a mistake. It was stupid. I'm not going to try to defend it.'"PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)
The former Minnesota governor signed a bill in 2007 that authorized a task force "to recommend how the state could adopt" a cap-and-trade system. The same year, he also joined onto an accord with five other governors urging the creation of "a market-based and multi-sector cap-and-trade mechanism."
Topics: 2012 Presidential Primaries, 2012 elections, Cap-and-Trade, Climate Change, Laura Ingraham, Newt Gingrich, Pres '12, Tim Pawlenty
Mark Kirk
Kirk Cites Al Gore's Personal Life As Impetus For Climate Flip-Flop
Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL)
Back when he was a member of the House, Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL) was one of a few Republicans who voted for a far-reaching climate change bill. That legislation quickly fueled Tea Party rage, and conservatives went on the attack against the plan's backers. So Kirk did an about face on the issue, and now blames... Al Gore's personal life for the whole sorry episode.
"The consensus behind the climate change bill collapsed and then further deteriorated with the personal and political collapse of Vice President [Al] Gore," Kirk told Greenwire.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Al Gore, Cap-and-Trade, Climate Change, Mark Kirk
Jan Schakowsky
Schakowsky Unveils Progressive Deficit Reduction Plan
Jan Schakowsky
A member of the White House's fiscal commission has released her own progressive plan for deficit reduction, after the commission's chairmen unveiled recommendations she vehemently opposes.
"Their proposal would have serious consequences for lower and middle class Americans, and that is why I cannot support it," says Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) in a statement. "I am releasing my own plan today because I believe that there is a better way to achieve our goal - one that protects the poor and the middle-class."
Her plan, which she claims would achieve fiscal balance by 2015, includes a host of ideas that were not included in the report released last week by Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles. It makes provision for another $200 billion worth of stimulus to take the form of unemployment insurance extensions and additional aid to states.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Cap-and-Trade, Debt, Deficit, Fiscal Commission, Fiscal Resonsibility, Health Care, Jan Schakowsky, Medicare, Public Option, Social Security
Health Care
Joe Barton: Health Care Repeal Is My Alamo
Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX)
Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) is ready for war. He told an audience today that he doesn't shy away from a fight, even a tough one like repealing the health care reform law passed in March.
"One of my heroes is a guy named Davy Crockett," Barton said this morning. Crockett and the rest of the doomed defenders of the Alamo "fought a fight that most people thought was hopeless," Barton added, saying that because they did, Texas eventually became the state it is today.
"One of Crockett's sayings is 'be sure you're right, then go ahead," Barton said, turning to the health care law. "The right thing to do is repeal this bill...and we're gonna do it."
War on Obamacare wasn't the only one Barton declared before an audience at the Heritage Foundation today.
The ranking member on the House Energy and Commerce Committee and one of the men vying to be the next chair of the powerful panel when Republicans take over the House next year, Barton laid out his plan for, essentially, undoing most of what President Obama and Democrats accomplished in the past two years. He laid out the central fronts: the battle to repeal what he calls Obamacare, the fight against the EPA, backing the growing insurgency opposed to net neutrality regulations, taking on "environmental radicalism" and -- of course -- defending the "traditional, incandescent light bulb" against government regulators who want to replace it with what Barton called "the little, squiggly, pig-tailed ones."
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Cap-and-Trade, Health Care, Health Care Implementation, Joe Barton
KY-SEN
Kentucky Station Pulls NRSC Spot For Inaccuracy
KY Senate candidate Jack Conway (D)
A Kentucky television station has taken down an NRSC ad aimed at Democratic Senate nominee Jack Conway, TPM has learned.
WHAS-TV general manger Mark Pimentel told me today that the ad -- in which the Republicans try to connect Conway to cap-and-trade proposals -- was pulled after the Republicans could not prove its veracity.
Conway's campaign had argued that the spot incorrectly painted Conway as a supporter of cap-and-trade, which on a number of occasions (including an interview with me) he has adamantly said he does not.
That argument appears to have won the day.
"The ad was pulled based on the documentation both sources provided," Pimentel told me.
"The Republicans offered a second sourcing when the first failed to convince us, but that failed as well as it contained no quotes from Jack Conway that proved their point," he said.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: 2010 elections, Cap-and-Trade, Jack Conway, KY-SEN, NRSC, Senate '10
Sarah Palin
Palin Endorses Raese In Pennsylvania -- But He's From West Virginia
Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin
Pennsylvania voters can't afford cap and trade legislation, says Sarah Palin. And that's why they need to send Republican John Raese to the Senate.
Except that John Raese is the Republican nominee in West Virginia.
Welcome to the latest Sarah Palin Twitter #fail.
This morning, the former half-term Alaska Governor turned kingmaker and kingbreaker in GOP politics told her hundreds of thousands of Twitter followers: "Pennsylvania:makes sense 2 send GOP 2 DC 2 avoid PA economic disaster that will occur under Obama/Pelosi Cap & Tax scheme; workers need Raese."
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: 2010 elections, Barack Obama, Cap-and-Trade, Joe Manchin, Joe Sestak, John Raese, Nancy Pelosi, PA-SEN, Pat Toomey, Sarah Palin, Twitter, WV-SEN
WV-SEN
Kaine On Manchin's Rifle Ad: 'I'm Not Wild About It'
Joe Manchin and Tim Kaine
DNC Chairman Tim Kaine said this morning he doesn't love West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin's much ballyhooed Senate ad featuring the Democrat firing his rifle at the "cap-and-trade" climate bill, but the gun isn't the problem.
"I'm not wild about it," Kaine told reporters at the Christian Science Monitor breakfast this morning.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: 2010 elections, Cap-and-Trade, DNC, Joe Manchin, Senate '10, Tim Kaine, WV-SEN
WV-SEN
Joe Manchin Promises To 'Take On' Obama, Shoots Climate Bill (VIDEO)
Campaign ad from West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin (D), "Dead Aim"
Gov. Joe Manchin literally takes aim and fires upon Democrats' climate legislation in a new television ad, promising voters if they elect him to the U.S. Senate next month he'll "take dead aim at the cap-and-trade bill, because it's bad for West Virginia."
In a remarkable ad for a Democrat, Manchin is seen wearing sportsman-style clothes and touting his NRA endorsement as he loads a rifle.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: 2010 elections, Barack Obama, Cap-and-Trade, Joe Manchin, John Raese, NRA, Senate '10, WV-SEN
Nancy Pelosi
Top Five Examples Of Dems Running Scared From Nancy Pelosi (VIDEO)
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)
It's too early to predict the outcome of the 2010 elections, but one thing we know for sure: If Democrats lose their majority in the House, Nancy Pelosi will not be Speaker anymore. That's certainly one of the reasons that she doesn't bat an eye (publicly, at least) when vulnerable and conservative Democrats run from her on the campaign trail.
"Sometimes Washington gets used to a rubber-stamp Congress which was the very homogeneous Congress of the Republicans," Pelosi said on PBS last night. "We are very diverse in opinion, gender, generation, geography, philosophy and the rest -- the House Democratic Caucus -- and some members did not vote for some the bills and that's their record and that's what they go out and say. I just want them to win."
But these candidates are not just running against their records. They're singling out Pelosi as the agent in Washington with whom they disagree with the most. Below, a list of the five most blatant examples of Democrats running scared from Pelosi.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: 2010 elections, Barack Obama, Bobby Bright, Cap-and-Trade, Chet Edwards, Climate Change, Democrats, Health Care, Jason Altmire, Joe Donnelly, John Boehner, Mike McIntyre, Nancy Pelosi, Republicans, Stimulus
Energy
GOP Prepares To Oppose Dem Energy Bill Over Oil Spill Liability
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)
Despite the demise of climate change legislation last week, top Republicans are loudly opposing a new, scaled back energy bill unveiled by Senate Democrats last night.
At a press conference this morning with top Republicans, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) called it a "cobbled-together bill," and GOP aides continue to raise the specter of a "national energy tax" despite the fact that the new legislation contains no tax on carbon emissions.
The Democratic plan, which is comprised of several measures (each of which has bipartisan support), may be in serious jeopardy, unless Democrats budge on one key issue: oil spill liability.
Topics: Cap-and-Trade, Climate Change, Energy, Environment, Gulf Coast Oil Spill, John Barrasso, Lisa Murkowski, Nuclear Energy, Oil, Oil Spill, Republicans
OH-SEN
Ohio GOPer's New Ad: Now Is The Time To Attack Cap-And-Trade
Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH)
Rob Portman, the Republican Party's Senate nominee in Ohio, has chosen today -- when a blistering heat wave is baking the East Coast and oil continues to pour into the Gulf of Mexico -- to launch a new TV ad attacking Democratic plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the nation's dependence on foreign oil. In a new TV ad running in Ohio, Portman warns against "a new energy tax coming our way from Washington that's a job killer for Ohio."
"It's called cap-and-trade," Portman says in the ad.
Watch:
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Cap-and-Trade, OH-SEN, Rob Portman
Roundup
TPMDC Saturday Roundup
Obama: Republicans Blocking Votes In The Senate
In this weekend's YouTube address, President Obama attacked Senate Republicans for blocking votes on unemployment benefits, lifting the cap on corporate liability for oil spills, and on his appointments.
"All we ask for is a simple up or down vote," Obama said of the unemployment benefits. "That's what the American people deserve. Just like they deserve an up or down vote on legislation that would hold oil companies accountable for the disasters they cause - a vote that is also being blocked by the Republican leadership in the Senate. Right now, the law places a $75 million cap on the amount oil companies must pay to families and small businesses who suffer economic losses as a result of a spill like the one we're witnessing in the Gulf Coast. We should remove that cap. But the Republican leadership won't even allow a debate or a vote."
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (1)Topics: 2010 elections, BP, Barack Obama, Cap-and-Trade, Claire McCaskill, Elena Kagan, Energy, Gulf Coast Oil Spill, Joe Barton, Oil Spill, Roundup, Supreme Court, Supreme Court vacancy
Roundup
TPMDC Morning Roundup
Obama Prods G-20 On Economic Recovery
In a letter to G-20 countries, President Obama sought cooperation on strengthening the economic recovery, with language seemingly aimed at assuaging doubts over public finances while also promoting stimulus goals: "We must act together to strengthen the recovery. We need to commit to restore sustainable public finances in the medium term. And we should complete the work of financial repair and reform."
Obama's Day Ahead
President Obama will depart from the White House at 10:15 a.m. ET, and depart from Andrews Air Force Base at 10:30 a.m. ET, arriving at 11:40 a.m. ET in Columbus, Ohio. He will tour a Recovery Act Highway Project site at 12:05 p.m. ET, and deliver remarks on the economy at 12:15 p.m. ET. He will depart form Columbus at 12:55 p.m. ET, arriving back at Andrews Air Force Base at 2 p.m. ET, and at the White House at 2:15 p.m. ET. He will meet at 2:45 p.m. ET with senior advisers.
Topics: Barack Obama, Campaign Finance, Cap-and-Trade, Elena Kagan, Energy, Joe Biden, Roundup, Supreme Court, Supreme Court vacancy
Roundup
TPMDC Morning Roundup
BP's Hayward To Tell Congress He Is 'Personally Devastated' By Disaster
BP CEO Tony Hayward is set to testify today before the House Energy and Commerce Committee's subcommittee on oversight and investigations. According to prepared remarks, Hayward will say that he is "personally devastated, and that the explosion and sinking of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil rig, and the resulting underwater oil gusher "never should have happened - and I am deeply sorry that they did."
Obama's Day Ahead
President Obama will receive the presidential daily briefing at 10 a.m. ET, the economic briefing at 10:30 a.m. ET, and a briefing at 11 a.m. ET on the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill. He will meet at 11:35 p.m. ET with the Veterans of Foreign War's New Commander in Chief Tommy Tradewell. He will meet at 2:25 p.m. ET with Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus. He will meet at 2:45 p.m. ET with senior advisers. He will meet at 3:15 p.m. ET with Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, at 3:45 p.m. ET with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and at 4:30 p.m. ET with Marine Corps Commandant Nominee General James Amos.
Topics: 2010 elections, Barack Obama, Cap-and-Trade, Climate Change, David Obey, Gulf Coast Oil Spill, House '10, Joe Biden, Oil Spill, Rasmussen, Roundup
Climate Change
Salazar: 'Cap And Trade' Not In The Lexicon Anymore
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, on CNBC this morning, suggested the administration will no longer use the term "cap and trade" to describe climate change legislation.
"I think the term 'cap and trade' is not in the lexicon anymore," Salazar said, adding that supporters -- including senators working on legislation -- will focus more on ideas such as slowing pollution, creating jobs and becoming energy independent. "It's in that context" the Senate will move forward, he said.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Cap-and-Trade, Climate Change, Ken Salazar, White House
Blanche Lincoln
Sierra Club Enters The Primary Fray In Arkansas
Lt. Gov. Bill Halter (D-AR) and Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR)
Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) will be the target of a new series of attack ads launched by the Sierra Club in Arkansas today. Lincoln's support for a plan to strip the EPA of its ability to regulate greenhouse gas emissions has drawn fire from environmental groups for a while now, and the new Sierra Club ad campaign is not the group's first on the subject.
But coming on the heels of Lt. Gov. Bill Halter's decision to challenge Lincoln in the Democratic Senate primary, the Sierra Club's new attack on Lincoln puts the group in the company of the AFL-CIO, MoveOn and other national groups pouring money into Arkansas in opposition to Lincoln.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (1)Topics: AR-SEN, Blanche Lincoln, Cap-and-Trade, Environment
Virginia Republican Party
Virginia GOP: Tell Cap-And-Trade Dems How Much 'Global Warming' You Get This Weekend! (VIDEO)
The Virginia Republican Party is out with a whopper Web video today mocking the incoming massive snowstorm as "global warming."
Showing images of cars stuck in giant snow banks, ominous weather reports and a ruler showing more than a foot of the white fluffy stuff, the Virginia GOP attempts to exploit the storm for political gain.
The ad, called "12 inches of Global Warming" is specifically targeting Reps. Rick Boucher (D-VA) and Tom Perriello (D-VA) in advance of the fall midterm elections.
Boucher and Perriello "think global warming is a serious problem for Virginia" the ad claims, "so serious" they voted to "kill jobs" by backing the House cap-and-trade bill this summer.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Cap-and-Trade, Climate Change, VA-05, Virginia Republican Party, snOMG
Climate Change
Obama Acknowledges Senate Unlikely To Adopt Pollution Limits
President Barack Obama
It's been apparent for quite some time that the Senate is unlikely to follow the House's lead in calling for the creation of an economy-wide market in greenhouse gas emissions. But today, at a town hall meeting in Nashua, NH, President Obama seemed, however reluctantly, to acknowledge the political reality.
"The most controversial aspects of the energy debate that we've been having: The House passed an energy bill, and people complained about, well, there's this cap and trade thing, and you just mentioned, you know, let's do the fun stuff before we do the hard stuff," Obama told former New Hampshire Rep. Dick Swett.
The only thing I would say about it is this. We may be able to separate these things out, and it-it's conceivable that that's where the Senate ends up, but the concept of incentivizing clean energy so that it's the cheaper more effective kind of energy is one that is proven to work and is actually a market-based approach.PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)
Topics: Barack Obama, Cap-and-Trade, Climate Change, Environment, House of Representatives, Senate
IL-SEN
Tea Party Uses (Republican) Scott Brown's Victory To Target (Republican) Mark Kirk
Rep. Mark Kirk (R-IL)
Tea Party Nation members spent less than an hour celebrating Republican Scott Brown's victory in Massachusetts before they got to work to end another Republican's Senate candidacy.
Organizers of the Tea Party Nation, which has banned "liberal trolls" from its Web site in advance of next month's convention in Nashville, last night told members the "next battle" is in Illinois to make sure Rep. Mark Kirk does not win the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate.
The primary is Feb. 2 and the Tea Party Nation warns that if Kirk (R-IL) wins, "this fall Illinois will have a choice between two liberals for the Illinois Senate seat." They call Kirk a "RINO," which stands for Republican In Name Only, with a "consistently liberal" record compared to Pat Hughes, who they called a "solid Conservative."
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (1)Topics: 2010 elections, Cap-and-Trade, IL-SEN, Mark Kirk, Patrick Hughes, Scott Brown, Tea Party, Tea Party Nation, Tea Party Nation Convention
Democrats
Moderate Dems: Climate Change Bill in 2010? Fuggedaboutit
It's no secret that conservative Democrats from coal, oil, and manufacturing states have long been wary about capping greenhouse gas emissions, but in the wake of the health care slog, they're letting their leadership and the White House know they want cap-and-trade off the table in 2010. Stand-alone energy legislation might stand a chance, but nothing nearly as ambitious as a bill the House passed in July to create an economy wide market for global warming emissions.
And there's at least some signs leadership is listening.
"At this point I'd like to see a complete bill but we have to be realistic," Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) said last week.
If the Senate fails to act on climate change this Congress, all of the House's hard work will be swept into the dustbin, and Democrats will have to start largely from scratch in 2011.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Cap-and-Trade, Climate Change, Democrats, Dick Durbin, Environment, Joe Lieberman, John Kerry, Lindsey Graham, Senate
IL-SEN
Mark Kirk's GOP Challenger Asks Him To Defend Flip-Flopping On Climate (VIDEO)
Rep. Mark Kirk (R-IL)
Rep. Mark Kirk (R-IL) is under pressure from conservatives to explain his moderate positions as he moves to the right in hopes of winning them over for his Senate bid.
The shift was captured last week in a debate hosted by the Chicago Tribune editorial board.
The short video below, spliced from the hourlong debate by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, captures contender Patrick Hughes calling Kirk out for voting first for a cap-and-trade bill and then against it.
"How can you have two reasons for doing something?" Hughes asks. "How come your reason changed, congressman, from 'We need to do this' to 'It's in the interest of my district' when neither of them are true."
Kirk's response, "I know my district far better than you."
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: 2010 elections, Cap-and-Trade, DSCC, IL-SEN
Republicans
From Dollars To Death Panels: How Republicans Distorted Debates On Capitol Hill
With Thanksgiving recess now upon us, it seems an appropriate time to revisit the hysterical Republican whoppers and talking points about the Democratic party agenda that have dominated this Congress. Herewith a top-five list:
Number Five: Paul Ryan Draws Line On Graph
Back in the Spring, when Democrats were putting together the federal budget, House Budget Committee ranking member Paul Ryan (R-WI) released a much-mocked Republican alternative, which would have basically canceled the stimulus and instituted a spending freeze of sorts. The ideas in the Republican alternative budget were roundly rebuked by experts, but Ryan wasn't deterred. Instead of accepting defeat, he unveiled some graphs suggesting that, under Republican budgets, spending would be restrained, while under Democratic budgets, it would blow through the roof.
Except his numbers weren't based on any analysis at all. Instead, Ryan used CBO numbers through 2018 and then drew an upward-sloping line on the graph completely at random. It didn't take long for Republicans to catch on and begin claiming that Democratic policies would make government spending half of GDP before the end of the century.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Budget, CBO, Cap-and-Trade, Climate Change, Death Panels, Defense Spending, Democrats, Health Care, House of Representatives, James Inhofe, Jim Inhofe, John Boehner, Judd Gregg, Paul Ryan, Republicans, Sarah Palin, Senate
Cap-and-Trade
Climate Bill Passes Senate Committee Amid GOP Boycott, Baucus Opposition
Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA), the planet Earth
A major climate change bill passed out of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee amid a Republican boycott this morning, setting the stage for other panels to amend the legislation. The final vote was 11-1. Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT)--whose Senate Finance Committee probably have its own crack at the bill--was the lone hold out. No Republicans showed up to vote.
Baucus says he wants near-term emissions targets softened, and to prevent the Environmental Protection Agency from stepping in to regulate carbon emissions on its own, pursuant to a 2007 Supreme Court ruling.
After the vote, ranking member James Inhofe (R-OK) appeared on Fox News and, in predictable fashion, lambasted the legislation, calling the committee's actions "unprecedented." He also claimed that the bill is "dead."
Chair Barbara Boxer wasn't nearly so glum.
"We found, after questioning the EPA extensively, that the Republicans' demand for another EPA analysis now would be duplicative and a waste of taxpayer dollars," Boxer said.
The absence of the Republicans during the EPA's presentation was a clear message that their criticism of the EPA analysis was not a substantive one....PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (1)We are pleased that despite the Republican boycott, we have been able to move the bill.
Topics: Barbara Boxer, Cap-and-Trade, Climate Change, Environment, Max Baucus, Republicans, Senate, Senate EPW Committee, Tom Carper
Cap-and-Trade
Voinovich Gets Emotional During Republican Climate Change Boycott
The Republican boycott of Senate climate change legislation continues today. But yesterday, Sen. George Voinovich (R-OH), whose objections sparked the boycott, insisted, in a tense, almost tearful moment, that his concerns were sincere, and implored Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA)--chair of the Environment and Public Works Committee--to humor him.
Voinovich himself sounds pretty earnest. But at the same time, It's hard to fault Boxer, who, after years worth of hearings on the issue, knows that all the additional EPA studies and GOP placating in the world won't win her a single minority vote in committee. So why not move ahead?
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Barbara Boxer, Cap-and-Trade, Climate Change, Environment, George Voinovich, Republicans, Senate, Senate EPW Committee
Lindsey Graham
Graham: I Understand The Concerns Of Republicans Boycotting Climate Hearing
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC)
As you may have heard, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee kicked off an amendment process on a climate change bill sponsored by Sens. John Kerry (D-MA) and Barbara Boxer (D-CA) today over the howls of the committee's Republican minority.
The back story's pretty simple, and not at all surprising. The committee minority, led by Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK), don't want a climate change bill to move forward. The most moderate among them--Sen. George Voinovich (R-OH)--isn't pleased that official EPA reports don't paint a sufficiently gloomy picture of a post-cap and trade future and together, the GOP is boycotting committee proceedings at least until such time as they get their hands on such a study.
But then there's Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC).
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (2)Topics: Barbara Boxer, Cap-and-Trade, Climate Change, Environment, George Voinovich, Lindsey Graham, Republicans, Senate
Cap-and-Trade
Boxer Slows Cap-And-Trade Markup, Implores GOP To Return To The Table
Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK) and Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA)
Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) said this evening she plans to fight Republican plans to slow the process of the cap-and-trade bill through the Senate with "patience."
"We're going to wait for them to come," she said at a press conference. "We're not going to rush this through."
Last week, the Republican members of the Environment and Public Works Committee Boxer chairs said they would boycott a markup of the the cap-and-trade bill scheduled for tomorrow. Led by committee ranking member Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK), the GOP contingent on the committee say they need more time to review the law and it's potential economic effects.
Their plans to delay the bill appear to have succeeded. Faced with the GOP plan, Boxer said the Democratic majority on the committee decided to "reach our hand across the aisle" and accommodate some of the GOP concerns.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Barbara Boxer, Cap-and-Trade, Frank Lautenberg, James Inhofe
Cap-and-Trade
Report: GOP To Boycott Cap-And-Trade Markup Tuesday
Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK) and Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA)
The GOP contingent on a Senate environmental committee will boycott a hearing aimed at moving a bill limiting carbon emissions toward final passage next week.
Environment and Public Works Committee chair Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) has scheduled a markup hearing on the cap-and-trade bill for Tuesday. The markup process is a key step before a bill leaves committee on its way to an eventual floor vote. All seven Republicans on Boxer's committee, led by ranking member Sen. James Inhfe (R-OK) will not attend Boxers hearing, and will instead hold a separate shadow hearing of their own focused on slowing down the cap-and-trade bill.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Barbara Boxer, Cap-and-Trade, James Inhofe
Climate Change
Major Climate Hearings Start Today On Capitol Hill As Administration Makes 'Green' Announcements
Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA), the planet Earth
With a clearer picture on health care, the Obama administration and Congress today are pivoting toward climate change legislation.
The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee began hearings this hour on Chairman Barbara Boxer's bill, with President Obama's Green Cabinet expected to testify.
Obama, meanwhile, is at a Florida solar power plant this morning announcing stimulus funds for a major investment in smart grid technology. An Obama aide tells TPMDC the president will talk about building the infrastructure for a clean energy economy.
Vice President Biden will be making an announcement at a General Motors plant in Delaware that is reopening to make hybrid vehicles.
With just over a month before climate change negotiations begin in Copenhagen, environmental advocacy groups have been pressuring the White House and Congress to take action so world leaders have a framework to build upon.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (1)Topics: Barack Obama, Barbara Boxer, Cap-and-Trade, Climate Change, Green Cabinet
Roundup
TPMDC Morning Roundup
Poll: Big Majority Of Americans Support Cap-And-Trade
A new CNN poll finds 60% of Americans supporting a cap-and-trade proposal to control carbon emissions, with only 37% against it. The pollster's analysis says that independents are environmentally conscious, but Democrats would still have to work to mobilize those concerns: "Independents may not be red or blue, but they appear to be green. Earlier polls indicate that Independents believe in global warming and believe that the government can take steps to curtail the problem. But the environment is not a big priority for Independents, as it is with Democrats."
Obama's Day Ahead
President Obama will depart from Miami at 10 a.m. ET, arriving at 10:50 a.m. ET in Sarasota. At 12:10 p.m. ET, he will tour the DeSoto Next Generation Solar Energy Center in Arcadia, Florida, and will deliver remarks at 12:25 p.m. ET. He will depart from Sarasota at 2:05 p.m. ET, arriving at 3:50 p.m. ET in Norfolk, Virginia. He will deliver remarks at a 4:55 p.m. ET rally for Creigh Deeds. He will depart from Norfolk at 6:05 p.m. ET, arriving back at the White House at 7:05 p.m. ET.
Topics: Barack Obama, Cap-and-Trade, Chris Dodd, Climate Change, Creigh Deeds, Health Care, Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, Roundup, Tom Price, VA-GOV
Climate Change
Business Leaders Plan D.C. Visit to Press Swift Action on Climate Change
Executives from some of the nation's most powerful corporations will visit Washington, D.C. this week to press Congress to act swiftly on far-reaching climate change legislation.
The groups, working under the umbrella of the campaign We Can Lead, will meet Wednesday and Thursday for training sessions, briefings, and advocacy on the Hill in support of the House's Waxman-Markey climate change bill and similar legislation.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (1)Topics: Cap-and-Trade, Chamber of Commerce, Climate Change, Environment, Henry Waxman
Barbara Boxer
Kerry, Boxer Unveil Climate Bill Draft...So What's Next?
Senator John Kerry (D-MA), Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA)
Sens. John Kerry (D-MA) and Barbara Boxer (D-CA)--chairs of the Foreign Relations Committee, and Environment and Public Works Committee respectively--have unveiled a draft of a climate change bill calling for significant reductions in U.S. carbon dioxide emissions in both the near and short term. The Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act.
Though the draft will change considerably over the coming weeks, it is the basis for the upper chamber's coming legislative push, which, if successful, will, when combined with an already-completed House climate bill, become the most significant piece of energy legislation in the nation's history.
But between now and then, it will meet the many machetes of the Senate--an institution that hasn't been too kind to previous, failed climate change bills.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (1)Topics: Barbara Boxer, Blanche Lincoln, Cap-and-Trade, Climate Change, Jeff Bingaman, John Kerry, Max Baucus, Senate Finance Committee
Barack Obama
TPMDC Morning Roundup
New DNC Ad: Tell Republicans To "Stop The Lies" On Health Reform
The Democratic National Committee has a new ad on health care, attacking Republican leaders for "trying to scare seniors about health reform." The ad will air on national cable and in Washington, D.C.
"Tell Republicans: Stop the lies on health reform," the announcer says.
Obama's Day Ahead
President Obama will tour a laboratory at the National Institutes of Health at 10:25 a.m. ET, with Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius. Obama will make a major announcement regarding the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act at 11 a.m. ET. He will sign the Arnold Palmer Gold Medal Act in the Oval Office at 1:30 p.m. ET, honoring the legendary golfer. At 3 p.m. ET, he will meet with his national security team on Afghanistan.
Topics: Al Franken, Barack Obama, Beau Biden, Cap-and-Trade, Climate Change, DNC, Joe Biden, Michelle Obama, Olympics, Pres '12, Rick Santorum
Mary Landrieu
Landrieu: Under "Very Few, If Any" Circumstances Would I Support A Public Option
Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA)
Speaking before what was described as a friendly crowd at the Monroe Chamber of Commerce yesterday, Sen. Mary Landrieu said she was opposed to much of the Democrats' legislative agenda.
Asked under what circumstances she would support a public option, Landrieu responded, "[v]ery few, if any. I'd prefer a private market-based approach to any health care reform that would extend coverage," according to the Monroe News Star.
"I'd like to cover everyone -- that would be the moral thing to do -- but it would be immoral to bankrupt the country while doing so," Landrieu said. The public option as currently conceived is expected to be a deficit reducer.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (1)Topics: Cap-and-Trade, Health Care, Mary Landrieu, Public Option, Senate
Barack Obama
TPMDC Morning Roundup
Public Option May Be Dropped
The Obama administration appears to be getting closer to dropping the public option as a proposal, shifting to a co-op plan with a better chance of passing. "The president is going to continue to try to persuade everyone of the great value of having a true public plan," an unnamed Democrat close to the White House told the New York Times. "But at the end of the day, I believe he recognizes that there are other, arguably less effective, ways to achieve greater coverage, more choice, better quality and lower cost in our system."
Obama's Day Ahead
President Obama will deliver remarks at the VFW National Convention in Phoenix, at 2 p.m. ET. He and the First Lady will depart from Phoenix at 3:20 p.m. ET, and arrive back at the White House at 7:35 p.m. ET.
Topics: Barack Obama, Budget, Cap-and-Trade, Climate Change, Environment, Health Care, Joe Biden, Public Option, Tom DeLay
Cap-and-Trade
Boehner Lends His Brightly Colored Anti-Cap-and-Trade Chart To Senate Cap-and-Trade Opponents
Last month, I noted that House Minority Leader John Boehner had gone to battle against the Waxman-Markey bill with a bright blue board, designed without any logic other than to imply that cap-and-trade legislation is complicated.
That battle ultimately failed--the bill passed by a slim margin--but Republicans haven't given up on the weapon. Via Grist, I see that Sen. Kit Bond (R-MO) is taking up Boehner's arms as the fight moves to the Senate.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (2)Topics: Cap-and-Trade, Climate Change, Senate
Cap-and-Trade
Brown: I Won't Filibuster Climate Change Legislation
Despite opposing cloture on a previous cap and trade bill, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) says that--whether he supports the underlying bill or not--he won't support a filibuster of climate change legislation this Congress.
"I'm not going to be part of a filibuster on climate change," Brown told me today. Brown voted against ending debate on the Lieberman-Warner bill in 2007, but he says he did that because the bill had no real chance of making it to the floor, and opposing cloture was his way of expressing his objection to aspects of that legislation.
"I was not blocking the bill from having a hearing on the floor, because it wasn't gonna get to that," Brown said. "I wanted to show that I don't support this bill unless you take care of American manufacturing."
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (2)Topics: Cap-and-Trade, Climate Change, Filibuster, Senate, Sherrod Brown
Harry Reid
In Reversal, Senate Dem Leadership Pushes For Unity Against Filibuster
As we've been reporting, Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid is demanding an end to efforts to woo fence-sitting Republicans in to supporting a watered-down health care reform legislation. But that will likely alienate just about the entire GOP, and require Democrats to stand united against a filibuster if a bill is to pass through regular order.
So, I suppose it should come as no surprise that, Senate leaders are now asking members of the Democratic caucus to vote party-line on procedural issues, reversing the stance they took on caucus unity just last week.
Predictably, conservative Democrats are publicly balking at the suggestion. Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE) told Roll Call "I'm not a closed mind on cloture, but if it's an abuse of procedure, if it's somebody trying to put a poison pill into a bill, or if it's something that would be pre-emptive of Nebraska law, or something that rises to extraordinary circumstances, then I've always reserved the right to vote against cloture."
And Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA)--a stickler when it comes to the public option and, an outright opponent of climate change legislation--said "I'm going to keep an open mind, but I am not committing to any procedural straitjackets one way or another," she said.
But for his part, Reid is actually putting himself on the line. "On procedural votes," he predicted, "we'll keep Democrats together." That's a fairly dramatic about face from the position he held just last week, after it became clear that Al Franken would be coming to Washington. "We have 60 votes on paper," Reid said. "But we cannot bulldoze anybody; it doesn't work that way. My caucus doesn't allow it. And we have a very diverse group of senators philosophically. I am not this morning suddenly flexing my muscles."
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (2)Topics: Ben Nelson, Cap-and-Trade, Filibuster, Harry Reid, Health Care, Mary Landrieu
Cap-and-Trade
The Mark-Up, 06-29-2009
TPMDC's update on the biggest legislative initiatives on the Hill:
- Climate Change: The House did its part on Friday, passing the landmark American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009. And they did it in a way that could, in theory, hold a great amount of sway with fence-sitting Democrats in the Senate. (Republicans are a different story--eight GOPers voted for the bill, but the rest sided with House Minority Leader John Boehner who called it a "pile of shit.") But success (and a successful bill) will depend in large part on factors like the Senate schedule, and White House involvement, which remain big unknowns.
- Health Care: The House of Representatives will begin the mark-up process on a health reform bill, drafted by three different committees of jurisdiction: Energy and Commerce, Education and Labor, and Ways and Means. Thus far, the roll out in that chamber has been pretty seamless, especially by comparison to the action in the Senate. But figuring out how to keep things moving smoothly while three committees make changes to it independently turns out to be a bit tricky. We should know more about that process soon.
Congress is not in session this week.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Cap-and-Trade, Climate Change, House of Representatives, Senate
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