Kerry, Boxer leading effort to produce Senate climate bill by end of September.

[ProSense]

Climate plan's backers have tougher audience in Senate

By Renee Schoof and David Lightman | McClatchy Newspapers

WASHINGTON — Senate supporters of a bill that for the first time would put limits on U.S. greenhouse gas emissions have launched an intense one-on-one effort to sound out their Senate colleagues' views in hopes of winning their support.

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Looking for ways to revise the House measure to make it palatable for senators is a key goal. Senate committees have a Sept. 28 deadline for writing legislation, with floor action likely in October. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada wants to have a bill ready for President Barack Obama's signature before international negotiations begin on a climate treaty in December in Copenhagen, Denmark.

"We believe this bill is going to be good for the economy," Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., the chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, said Thursday in between private one-on-one meetings with senators. Boxer, a leader in efforts to draft a Senate version of the bill, said it will be called the Climate Security Jobs Act.

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"We're going to hew pretty closely to what they did in the House," where the bill was written to take into account the concerns of coal states, manufacturing interests and others, said Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., who's also leading the Senate's drive for a climate bill. "We've got some notions where it can be legitimately improved, but we're going to approach it in a thoughtful way."

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[lapfog_1]

1. How about get rid of cap and trade.

I've never liked the concept, and it opens yet another market for manipulation by unscrupulous capitalist pigs.

How about we commit to turning off 1 coal plant a month... and replace with green energy alternative, paid for by stimulus money and owned by the government. Rate payers pay off the cost of construction and operation... and the excess is collected into a fund to pay for more solar and wind projects.

And tell the utilities to go Cheney themselves.

[karynnj]

2. It is unlikely that he would take out cap and trade which he has supported for years

It worked very well on the admittedly less complicated problem of acid rain. In the 1980s, rivers and forests in NE and the Middle Atlantic were being destroyed by acid rain caused by sulfur emissions, many from far to the west of us. When Senator Kerry was lt governor of MA, he learned of the cap and trade solution visiting people dealing with the same problem in Germany. (His first cousin was then environmental minister of France (at the time of Poznan, he was a lead negotiator for the EU - so he had an easy time doing this) Kerry persuaded the NE governors' conference to adopt it, so the NE and north eastern Canada had a cap and trade system that became the model for the one in the clean air act. The experience of the clean air act was that it lowered emissions twice as fast as expected and cost half as much.

[politicasista]

3. Kick

:kick:

[VMI Dem]

4. Kerry is a leader.

There are non-leaders in leadership positions that could take a lesson from him.

[karynnj]

10. Welcome to DU

Kerry is a leader and an excellent chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. I assume he prefers chairing that committee to a party leadership position. Between his excellent hearings and the fact that he can do investigations, it is a powerful position.

[YvonneCa]

13. He sure is. Welcome...

...to DU. :)

[Forkboy]

5. This is one of Boxer's best areas.

Kerry and her are people I can have a little hope in.

[polichick]

6. Me too - good team. nt

[lunatica]

7. I hope they don't go for the lowest common denominator and dumb it down

over the few states that have coal mining. Why do we have to coddle the dirtiest industry in order to get rid of the friggin pollution that will kill us if we don't do something about it?!

Jesus, So far in the great 21st Century we would never have made it even to the drawing board on the moon missions. We're going backwards or sideways, but just can't seem to go ahead. Damn!

[polichick]

8. The House already dumbed it down pretty far - I hope they strengthen it. nt

[Cha]

9. Kick for success

in the Senate.

[Vidar]

11. Applauding Boxer & Kerry.

[Kdillard]

12. Go Kerry and Boxer. Hopefully they can strengthen it in areas

where it needs to be strengthened.

[politicasista]

14. Kick n/t

For weekend crowd. :kick:

[bigwillq]

15. Good job.

:thumbsup: