Senate Democrats late last week abandoned any attempt to win approval for comprehensive climate and energy legislation this year, after Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid conceded that he didn't have the 60 votes needed to pass the bill over the inevitable Republican filibuster.
Instead, Senate leaders are putting their shoulders into passing a quickly assembled substitute bill that weaves together a collection of sure-to-pass programs and provisions into a patchwork piece of legislation that is guaranteed to agitate no one--except the people who actually want to do something about reducing greenhouse gas emissions and shifting American energy dependence from fossil fuels to clean, renewable energy. And there's no telling whether the U.S. House of Representatives will accept this watered-down bill even if the Senate passes it.
The new bill, which Reid wants to pass before the August recess, does not put a price or a cap on carbon emissions, does not subsidize electric vehicles, provides no debt financing for clean energy, and includes no renewable energy standard (RES) to mandate that a certain percentage of the nation's electricity come from green energy sources (although a handful of moderate Democrats and at least one Republican senator who firmly oppose any kind of carbon cap or tax have said they might be open to including an RES in the new bill). On the other hand, the substitute bill doesn't open new areas to offshore oil drilling nor does it include billions of dollars in loan guarantees for nuclear energy.
Here's what the new bill does include:
- Tighter restrictions on offshore oil drilling, plus a provision raising the liability cap for oil companies under the Oil Pollution Act from the current $75 million to $10 billion.
- About $4.1 billion in incentives for natural gas vehicles (which is good news for billionaire T. Boone Pickens, who has invested heavily in a plan to make natural gas a mainstream fuel for vehicles).
- $5 billion for expanded land and water conservation.
- $5 billion in funding for the HomeStar program, which provides economic incentives to encourage homeowners to make their homes more energy efficient.
There's plenty of blame to go around here. Obama and Senate leaders were too ready to compromise, too passive about pushing comprehensive legislation, and too ineffectual to challenge Republicans and bring rebellious Democrats into line. But the bulk of responsibility for leaving the American people with no legislative path toward a clean-energy future rests with Senate Republicans and a few centrist Democrats who refused to vote for any climate-and-energy bill with teeth.
It's not unusual for House or Senate leaders to hold back legislation if they know they don't have the votes, but there are times when the process is as important as the ultimate outcome. This was one of those times. Reid should have brought to the floor the best climate and energy bill the Democrats could create, forcing every U.S. senator to take a clear and unequivocal position on the issue. Politics may be the art of compromise, but the heart of politics is rigorous debate on critical issues.
With an effective legislative solution fading to little more than a green mist, at least for this year, the next best option for a U.S. climate strategy is for the EPA to exercise its authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions--authority granted to the agency by the Clean Air Act and confirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court. Senators Murkowski and Rockefeller are poised to introduce legislation that would block or limit EPA authority over greenhouse gas emissions, and President Obama has promised to veto all such attempts.
There is no question that smart climate and energy legislation would have been more comprehensive, economical and efficient--and an all-around better solution--than agency regulation. But when elected officials fail to serve the best interests of their constituents, regulators sometimes have to fill the gap.
Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
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