Senators lay out their agenda after the Environment and Public Works Committee reported out the Kerry-Boxer Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act.
Max Baucus (D-MT)
E&E News That frees up the Senate, frankly. It frees up all members of the Senate who are interested in climate change, including those on the committee.
I don’t want to say we’re going to do something totally different. I’m respectful of the House allocation.
We have to be sensitive to our own industries, as other countries are sensitive to theirs. I strongly believe that an open trading system benefits all countries. It’d be unwise to retrench.
On his idea for triggers for stronger targets That’s something we can work out. Climate change is going to be with us, legislative efforts are going to be with us for a while. It’s not going to happen tomorrow. Plenty of time to work on this.
Saxby Chambliss (R-GA)
Wall Street Journal The actions the EPA has taken and its plans to regulate greenhouse gases are a serious concern. However, EPA’s actions should not scare Congress into passing bad legislation.
Lindsey Graham (R-SC)
Politico Now, it’s time to find a bill that will make good policy. Clearly, there are not 60 votes for that product.
E&E News I appreciate the committee’s work. Now it’s time to find a bill that can make good policy. Environmental policy needs to be good business policy. If it’s not, there will never be 60 votes.
Judd Gregg (R-NH)
Politico It’s hard to vote on a bill that big without knowing what it’s going to do. I don’t think that bill is viable in its present form, because we don’t know what it does.
Tom Harkin (D-IA)
E&E News on the 50-50 split of allocations to utilities based on retail sales and historic emissions It’s going to be changed. It can’t stay at 50-50. It won’t. It can’t.
Lisa Murkowski (D-AK)
E&E News I think it has left clearly a very bitter taste in many members’ mouths about how we’re part of a process on a very important issue. This may stall things out for a period of time.
Politico It dooms that particular legislation. The question is what comes next. We will see what Plan B is.
E&E News We’ve been talking a lot about starting over with a blank piece of paper. I think this might allow for that. If that’s the case, that’s a positive.
Ben Nelson (D-NE)
Politico I don’t know that I’m playing a key role, but we’re talking. I think that’s important.
Jay Rockefeller (D-WV)
E&E News What they have to understand is that the Senate is not ready to travel at their rate. And that the balance on this is among people like myself who come from coal state and manufacturing states who can’t just sort of meet the Copenhagen deadline. We’ve got to be satisfied that it’s a good bill and I’m not at this point.
Arlen Specter (D-PA)
Politico I think the bill could have been improved substantially.