Maybe Next Year

I wouldn't get your hopes up on a climate bill coming out of DC this year.  I know that Kerry/Lieberman unveiled their bill yesterday and there has been much reporting on what it would do.  But I think Ezra Klein makes the key point in this post.

Meanwhile, John Kerry and Joe Lieberman brought out their "American Power Act," but it's being greeted with a sort of respectful sympathy, not calls for action. Notice that the president is in Buffalo, New York to talk jobs, not climate.

(Emphasis is his).

That's not the bill's only problem.  Lindsey Graham walked away from working on a climate change bill last month when the immigration issue started getting more attention (Source: Ezra).  How is a climate bill supposed to get through the Senate without one member of the GOP on board? Check out this quote from The Hill:

Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) praised the measure and vowed to seek action this year, but acknowledged it will need “significant” bipartisan backing. Reid last year compared moving climate change legislation to a “headache.”


"Significant" bipartisan backing.  Right.  By the way, I think I'm being optimistic with my heading, Maybe Next Year.  I have my suspicion that political outcomes in the fall will make working on climate change even more unlikely.  Perhaps we can work on this later... and later... and later...

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