Democrats launch desperate effort to resurrect climate bill in Congress

guardian.co.uk, ^ | February 23 2010 | Suzanne Goldenberg

[mdittmar]

Democratic leaders launched a last gasp effort today to try to resurrect a climate change bill before Congress, which is seen as vitally important in sealing a global deal to tackle global warming.

Although the bill had virtually been pronounced dead for 2010 Senator John Kerry fuelled speculation that Democrats will take one last run this spring at trying to get Congress to act on one of Barack Obama's key campaign promises.

"We are on a short track here in terms of piecing together legislation that we intended to roll out," Kerry told an energy forum in Washington DC.

Some reports suggest Kerry and his allies could lay out their plans for energy and climate change reforms as early as this week. But, after the problems of healthcare reform, a number of key Democratic Senators remain hesitant about taking on another ambitious and controversial project in the run-up to November's mid-term elections.

Meanwhile, the Obama administration scaled back and delayed its plans to use its regulatory authority to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, in case Congress fails to act. Lisa Jackson, who heads the Environmental Protection Agency, told Congress today she expects the agency to weaken the rules for reducing emissions from power plants and delay their implementation until 2011.

Kerry, a Democrat, and two other Senators — the South Carolina Republican Lindsey Graham and Independent Joe Lieberman — have been trying to cobble together a bill acceptable to Republicans and oil and coal state Democrats as well as the liberal wing of Obama's party.

Kerry said that the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, now wanted to take up energy reform. "He affirmed he wants a bill and he wants a bill soon," Kerry said.

[cranked]

Amen. Jail all these SOBs, Gore first.

[musicman]