Key environmentalists ok with delay on climate bill until fall



“With a little more time it
might be possible to get broader support from the utility sector,” said Manik
Roy, the Pew Center’s vice president of federal government outreach. “The
problem is we don’t have a proposal on the table and until we do, it’s hard for
the power sector companies to know what they’re responding to.”
 


Roy suggested one possibility
could be having the Senate take up legislation responding to the Gulf of Mexico
oil spill before the summer recess and pick up the rest of the energy and
climate debate when senators return in September. “Obviously, there’s a real
eagerness in the Senate to take action on the oil spill,” he said.


Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.)
and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) — who are leading the effort to enact a
utility-focused climate plan — have also said more time to work out a deal may
be welcome.


“I think we’re right now more
of the prisoners of timing than we are of substance; I’m convinced of that,”
Kerry said Wednesday. “I’m not adverse to taking longer to help persuade people
if that’s what we need to do.”
 


He cited upcoming EPA
greenhouse gas regulations next year affecting power plants as a reason for why
discussions will continue this year regardless of whether a climate plan is
taken up this summer. “This issue is not going to go away,” he said.
 


Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (R-Nev.) is set this week to determine the course of action on energy and
climate policy, including what, if anything, would be brought up this summer
and whether it would include a utility-focused climate change plan.
 
The heads of Sierra Club, Environmental Defense Fund and the Natural Resources Defense Council are speaking to Reid this afternoon about a possible strategy.

Senate Democrats will discuss
the topic at a policy lunch on Thursday. Kerry also said there may be other
meetings Thursday — including with White House officials — that would be key in
determining the path forward.
 


Kerry said President Obama is
not expected be personally involved in these meetings.


There are potentially
pitfalls for acting either this summer or later on climate legislation.

The legislative calendar is
already packed between now and the August break — suggesting there may not be
enough time to debate a major energy and climate package.



But there are a series of
spending bills that also may be taken up starting in September in an effort to
finish them off before the November election. There is also little precedent
for taking up major legislation during a lame-duck session.

Kerry declined to speculate
on the pros and cons of the timing of a debate. “There’s no point in
speculating about the advantages and disadvantages for something that may never
be on the table; it’s just a waste of time,” he said.


One problem commonly cited is
that election-year politics will worsen as the election draws closer.

There is an argument, though,
that none of the swing votes on climate legislation are up for reelection this
year. “For the swing members, wouldn’t it be better to resolve this now, rather
than in their election cycle?” said one source closely following the
talks. 

But there are those expected to be friendly toward climate
legislation — including Sens. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Russ Feingold (D-Wis.)
— that may fear a vote on such a complicated and controversial issue may make
their reelection campaigns that much tougher.