Posted on 10/27/2009 1:04:16 PM PDT by kingattax
WASHINGTON -- Sen. Max Baucus said Tuesday he has "serious reservations" about climate legislation newly unveiled by his Democratic colleagues, signaling that lawmakers may have to pull back from some ambitious goals in order to line up needed votes.
"I have some concerns about the overall direction of the bill," Mr. Baucus (D., Mont.) said at the start of hearings in the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. "I have serious reservations with the depth of the mid-term reduction target in the bill and the lack of preemption of the Clean Air Act."
Mr. Baucus -- who's also chairman of the Senate Finance Committee -- said the bill as currently written risks moving legislators "further away from that achievable consensus on common sense climate change [legislation]."
Climate legislation written by Sen. Barbara Boxer (D., Calif.) and Sen. John Kerry (D., Mass.) calls for reducing greenhouse-gas emissions 20% below 2005 levels by 2020. That's tougher than a House-passed version, which calls for a reduction of 17%. The Senate bill also protects the power of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to regulate greenhouse-gas emissions using the Clean Air Act, powers that were stripped by the House.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
The tax isn’t high enough?
But he’ll vote for it anyway....
Troubled? He should be throwing up from it.
It’s the bi=partisan thing to do, considering McCain and Graham (at least) will vote for it too. You can probably throw in Snowe and Collins.
Awww, look how tough he is. Skinny but tough!!!
If Congress is going to control the climate, do we get to vote on the weather we want?
Baucus is troubled by the senate climat bill.
So am I.
Major Democrat support in Montana comes from Indian Reservations, and those in the colder eastern part of the state (weather comparable to North Dakota in the winter), aren't going to like getting dinged extra for heat.
Baucus could be committing political suicide by backing any additional energy taxes.
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