Fresh off last week's health care reform win, president Barack Obama and his allies in Congress have turned their attention to climate change -- particularly the Kerry-Boxer bill that would establish a carbon trading system and set renewable energy targets in the U.S. Today, its co-author, senator Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), said she will push the legislation forward, despite stiff opposition from Senate republicans and democrats from industrial, emission-heavy states.
As chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, Boxer said she is initiating the markup of the bill -- revision before it heads to a vote -- bringing it one step closer to approval. To do so, she used a loophole in committee rules requiring two members of the minority party to proceed with a markup. As long as a majority of committee members are present, it can happen, she said (a tactic that is rarely used). Luckily for her, democrats outnumber republicans in the group by 12 to 7.
The conservative contingent tried to throw up roadblocks last week, arguing that the Environmental Protection Agency has yet to present an economic impact analysis of the Kerry-Boxer bill, but Boxer overruled their protests, saying that its preliminary economic report will serve just fine.
Senator James Inhofe (R-Okla.; pictured above), who sits on the committee, has been very vocal in his opposition to the bill, and government response to climate change in general. He's even threatened to attend the United Nations' December climate talks in Copenhagen under the banner of a so-called "truth squad" to undermine Obama's position on the issue.
While he's tried to poke holes in the science behind global warming, it's pretty clear that Oklahoma's position as seventh highest ranking oil producer per capita in the country (even more than Texas) has something to do with his stance.
To stall the committee markup of the 959-page Kerry-Boxer bill, Inhofe has convinced the other republican members to boycott discussion on the legislation. In response, Boxer said, "We urge Ranking Member Inhofe, with the utmost respect, to bring the committee Republicans back to work on this issues. We will give them the opportunity, as we proceed this week, to reconsider their decision."
The markup will go forward as planned, starting tomorrow, even though republicans haven't budged. They are "disappointed that the majority seems intent on moving forward with a markup before receiving a full analysis from the EPA," committee republican spokesman Matt Dempsey told the Washington Post.
Committee members were asked to send in their amendments to the bill by 9 a.m. today, but most democrats interviewed about it said they were mostly satisfied with the legislation's language.
There's a lot of pressure on both Senate democrats and president Obama to get this bill signed, sealed and delivered. While many watchdogs say there's no way for it to pass by the end of the year, the administration is pushing the issue harder than ever. If the U.S. shows up to Copenhagen without new climate laws, the chances of producing a global carbon emissions treaty will be even slimmer.
Two years ago, Boxer and Inhofe debated global warming on Larry King Live (see video below). Tension has only run deeper since.
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