Earth Equity News

Money Changes Everything. Posted by Joseph Romm, Grist, June 11, 2008. "The debate over the Climate Security Act bill has made it clear that trillions are at stake in global warming legislation. No surprise, then, that the Senate power brokers don't want Barbara Boxer's Environment and Public Works committee to have the only say on who gets what. E&E Daily (subscription required) has the story of how the climate bill is likely to have a much longer and far more tangled journey next year: Next year's Senate climate debate is shaping up to be much different than the one that played out over the last 18 months as powerful committee chairmen express interest in vetting critical pieces of the controversial legislation. Consider Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.), who said he will not close the door next year on writing the new climate bill section that deals with the distribution of trillions of dollars in auction and allowance revenue... The Agriculture Committee may want to draw up the provisions that deal with domestic and international offsets. Adaptation and ocean issues have a home in the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee. And even the emission limits could be up for grabs if the Energy and Natural Resources Committee is interested... Assuming Democrats still control the Senate in 2009, Majority Leader Harry Reid... would make the final decision... The process for how the [Climate Security Act] came to the floor is likely to be closely scrutinized... in anticipation of the next battle. Among the critical questions: Did Democratic leaders put... caucus members into a tough spot debating a bill that would increase gas prices at the beginning of the... summer driving season? Did Boxer shut out the views of Democratic and GOP senators critical to... the 60-vote coalition required to get a bill adopted... 'We can't have a repeat of what just happened, where one committee decides what's going to be in this bill,' said a Senate Democratic aide close to the climate process. 'The only way we got away with bringing this to the floor is that everyone knew this wasn't a real process... Another factor that could change the dynamic is the lack of an obvious potential Republican cosponsor on the current EPW Committee roster. Warner is retiring at the end of the year, and Boxer and Lieberman will likely want a GOP ally as the debate begins. Perched on other committees, however, are some contenders, including Florida's Mel Martinez (Energy and Natural Resources), Alaska's Lisa Murkowski (likely ranking member of Energy and Natural Resources) and Ted Stevens (ranking member of Commerce if he wins his re-election contest this November)."