Kerry: Jobs bill no threat to climate plans

Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) said Tuesday that Democratic plans to pack billions of dollars in energy programs into upcoming jobs legislation will not sap momentum from the broader climate change and energy bill he is trying to craft.

The jobs legislation remains in flux but could include upward of $12 billion in home and building efficiency retrofits and other energy-related spending.

“If it [the jobs bill] were to reach too far, it could have an impact, but I don’t think it is, and I think that has been taken into consideration,” Kerry told reporters in the Capitol.

“It is not a sufficiently broad enough piece that it has the ability to satisfy what needs to be done on the full energy front,” added Kerry, who praised the planned inclusion of the energy-efficiency measures in the jobs bill.

Kerry is working with Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) on a bill that would merge greenhouse gas emissions caps with support for various energy technologies, including nuclear power.

But it remains unclear whether the Senate will act on climate legislation in 2010. Mandatory curbs on greenhouse gas emissions face opposition from many Republicans and some centrist Democrats.