Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) had a stern message for his Republican colleagues today regarding the new 60 seat Democratic majority. He tweeted from Sen. Al Franken's (D-Minn.) news conference today:
Just welcomed Al Franken to Senate. That doesn't abdicate Republicans' responsibility to work w/us, address challenges facing our country.
The top Senate Democrat seemed to warn Republicans that the supermajority is not an excuse for Republicans to double down on partisan opposition to Democratic legislation.
Reid's comments were also intended to cover his bases because it is not guaranteed that the Democratic majority will stay intact on every vote.
The Nevada Senator may need Republicans support to push through controversial measures on healthcare reform, climate change, and a second stimulus if the Senate votes on these pieces of legislation.
Franken is set to be sworn into the Senate tomorrow after being declared the winner of the election versus former Sen. Norm Coleman last week
House Minority Leader John Boehner did his best impression of a senator Friday evening, invoking his privilege to unlimited debate to stall a final vote on the Democratic climate change bill.
Boehner had been speaking at length about the amendment he said was "filed at 3:09am," which spans 300 pages. Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee Henry Waxman interrupted Boehner, asking the acting speaker Ellen Tauscher (D-Calif.) to stop Boehner's mock filibuster.
But under the rules, Tauscher let Boehner continue his speech. The official Twitter of the GOP Conference reported that Boehner will read all 300 pages of the amendment.
Harry Reid is warning his colleagues to expect a "very long, hard work period" this summer.
With Democrats hoping to pass healthcare and climate change before the August recess (climate change perhaps just in the House), Reid is preparing for a packed schedule.
Congress usually bears its heaviest load Tuesday through Thursday, since members often travel on Monday and Friday.
But the Nevada Democrat said the Senate would work Monday through Friday from July 5 to Aug. 7, when Congress is scheduled to go on recess for the balance of the summer. The only day in the workweek that senators should not expect votes is July 17, he said.
Speaking of health care, Reid said "we cannot complete that most important legislation" working a more limited schedule. "Everyone's on notice," he said.
In remarks on the floor, Reid said is it unclear whether the Senate will act in July on the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court, or whether the issue would "spill over until" to September. A decision will be made after conversations with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Reid said.
Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) sharply criticized the Democrats' cap and trade energy legislation on Saturday, saying the policy amounts to another tax.
"It's true. They want to put a new tax on American energy," Barrasso said in the Republican response to President Obama's weekly radio and internet address.
"A new tax every time you turn on a light switch," he added. "American families already spend more than $2,000 a year on home energy costs alone."
The House Energy and Commerce Committee on Thursday passed Chairman Henry Waxman's (D-Calif.) climate change proposal out of the committee in a 33 to 25 vote. The proposal would set up a carbon cap and trading system intended to drastically reduce carbon emissions.
On Friday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) praised the legislation in her weekly press conference.
Republicans, however, have been highly critical of the proposal, saying it amounts to more taxes.
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Global Warming Subcommittee Chairman Edward Markey(D-Mass.) said that his committee's climate change bill is the "legislative Susan Boyle -- everyone underestimated it until it started to sing."
Susan Boyle entered the international spotlight back in April after she wowed the audience and judges on "Britain's Got Talent" with her voice, despite her unpolished look.
On Thursday the Energy and Commerce Committed released their climate change bill, bringing a key democrat on board, Rep. Rick Boucher (D-Va.). Markey was joined by Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif) and Boucher at a briefing announcing his support for the legislation.
Via The Washington Independent comes news that Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), Chairman of the House Energy Commerce Committee and lead author of cap and trade legislation pending in the House, is moving towards a substantial compromise on emissions targets and permit allocations.
At issue is what percentage (if any) of the "permits" allowing emissions will be given away to energy intensive industries at first. Waxman now seems willing to capitulate to at least one of industry's key demands: 40% of permits allocated to "local electricity distribution" companies and 15% directly to the hardest hit industries. Over time these numbers would gradually move towards zero.
Waxman's also reportedly willing to lower his emission reduction targets. The bill initially called for a 20% reduction by 2020; Waxman's now open to either 14% or 17%, depending on which report you believe. (Here and here.) The overall goal of 83% reductions by 2050 seems safe for now.
At first glance this seems like a big blow to environmentalists. But I'm not so sure--if the compromise will lead to the successful implementation of the cap-and-trade regulatory structure, it wouldn't seem too hard to tweak the target numbers in future years. In any event, the bill was stalled with the high targets, and this compromise seems more comprehensive than Waxman's last reported effort...
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) blasted President Obama's cap-and-trade proposal today, saying it represented a "irresponsible, ill-conceived and distorted version of a cap-and-trade system."
Under cap-and-trade, the government would establish an emissions ceiling that polluters can exceed only if they obtain allowances.
Obama favors auctioning off all of those allowances, while some Republicans and moderate Democrats think a portion should be given away initially to ease businesses' transition into the new system.
"The president's proposal of auctioning 100 percent of the carbon credits is bad economic policy that would cost businesses billions of dollars and allow for little-to-no transition into a low carbon system," McCain told the Reform Institute Forum today. "I am a supporter of a strong cap-and-trade system, but I will not and cannot align myself with a giant government slush fund that will further burden our businesses and consumers."
The legislation currently being discussed in the House does not dictate what portion of the allowances would be auctioned. Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), a co-sponsor of the legislation, has said he believes at least some portion should be given away at first.
"Initially, at least, we have to set aside a certain amount of the carbon credits to ensure that the steel, the paper and other trade-sensitive, energy-intensive industries are not exploited in the near term by the Chinese and others in terms of them taking advantage of this increased cost," he told an MIT conference. "Right off the top, we cannot auction off all those credits."
President Obama did say during his campaign that all allowances under a cap-and-trade policy should be auctioned. But there are signs the administration is open to a compromise.
In an interview with the Washington Post, White House Science Adviser John Holdren hinted that an all-auction policy might not be feasible.
"The idea, obviously, is to end up with a bill that reflects both the thinking of Congress and the administration, a bill that the president can sign," Holdren said. He added that "whether you get to start with [100% auctions] or get there over a period of time is something that's being discussed."
Even environmentalists are flexible on the issue.
"It's not essential to us that there be 100% auctions from the start," said David Doniger, Policy Director of the Climate Center at the National Resources Defense Fund. "I think over time you want to get there."
The number of Americans that support nuclear energy is on the rise, according to a new Gallup poll.
Nearly six in 10 respondents in the survey now favor nuclear energy as a way to provide electricity and more than a quarter strongly favor it. Gallup notes that until this survey, support for nuclear energy had consistently hovered around the mid 50s.
There also appears to be a significant divide between men and women. More than seven in 10 men support nuclear energy, while less than half of women back it. Both men and women support using nuclear energy more now than in previous surveys, though.
Read more...
A bipartisan group of senators are pressing colleagues not to use the special budget reconciliation process to make it easier to pass climate change legislation.
Seven Democrats and 21 Republicans have penned a letter to Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) and the committee's ranking Republican, Sen. Judd Gregg (N.H.), urging them not to attach bill limiting carbon emissions to a budget reconciliation measure, which needs only a simple majority in the Senate to pass.
The White House and top Democrats in Congress who back the cap-and-trade climate change bill haven't ruled out using the reconciliation process to push it through.
Republicans and centrist Democrats have said they're worried that emissions caps would lead to a rise in energy costs that would hurt consumers and companies in energy-producing states. Critics also said that using reconciliation to bypass the regular legislative process would make it tougher for the Obama administration to win bipartisan support in the future.
The Obama administration launched Recovery.gov today - it's website to track where the money from the economic stimulus package is going.
"Recovery.gov is a website that lets you, the taxpayer, figure out where the money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is going," the website states. "There are going to be a few different ways to search for information. The money is being distributed by Federal agencies, and soon you'll be able to see where it's going -- to which states, to which congressional districts, even to which Federal contractors. As soon as we are able to, we'll display that information visually in maps, charts, and graphics."
The effort is undoubtedly part of their pledge for more transparent governance. There isn't much information on the site now, but Obama says in the video on the site that there is more to come (video below). With just a quick glance, I see a time line of key dates, a bubble break down of where the money is going and a rather nifty chart on how many jobs will be created in each state (though that's the only information there). It also has links to the bill.
What do you think about the site?
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