There was an uproar earlier today when Senator Lindsay Graham, who has been working on a climate/energy bill with Sens. Kerry & Lieberman, wrote in a letter that he would not support the bill if Democrats chose to pursue immigration reform first. Well, it seems that Democrats have decided to do just that, as Senator Kerry has postponed the release of the KGL bill, which was scheduled for Monday.
Here's the story from the Washington Post. Senator Kerry put out a statement vowing to continue working on the legislation:
Joe and I will continue to work together and are hopeful that Lindsey will rejoin us once the politics of immigration are resolved. We will continue to work and we will do everything necessary to be ready when the moment presents itself. The White House and Senate Leadership have told us from the start that this is the year for action, and until they tell us otherwise we're pressing forward.
I appreciate Senator Kerry's efforts to keep up hope of climate legislation, but I have to say, I am deeply disappointed. Of course, this could all be bluster. There may be unresolved policy issues regarding the bill itself, and this could be a way of negotiating them. But it seems as though Dem leadership, whether that is the President or Harry Reid, as decided to push immigration reform next. I believe this is a mistake, and I believe this is a decision being made for purely political reasons.
Let's face it, Harry Reid is in the electoral fight of his life. As it stands right now, there's a good chance he won't be in the Senate next year. If his state did not have a sizable Hispanic population, would he be pursuing immigration reform legislation so vigorously? I understand that passing such a bill would help some Dems, but it could hurt others in parts of the country without large Hispanic populations. Do we even know that such Dems would vote for any immigration reform bill? I would think a case could be made that such a vote could hurt them far more than help. Of course, there are some who believe that it is good policy to pursue immigration reform first. I don't. I think energy/climate legislation is vital.
Even the KGL bill, which is admitedly not ideal, would be a step forward. It would put a cap on emissions, create a renewable energy standard, and put a price on carbon. It would also be job creation legislation. Thousands of green jobs would be created across the nation at a time when job creation is vitally important. I suggest that you read this diary, posted earlier today by RL Miller. I don't want to speak for the author, as they admitted they are not sure whether or not to support the bill. But the diary is very informative on what is actually in the bill.
To those who refuse to support the bill, I ask a simple question: is it possible to do better? The fact is, Dems do not need to simply get 1 or 2 GOP votes on this bill. They need to convince a few Dems to support it. Any Dem from a coal state or off shore oil state wants concessions on these energy sources for their state. This is why the bill has $10 billion for "clean coal" and expanded off shore oil exploration. There are others who say that we should simply wait until the next congress, when we may be able to get a better bill. How? Democrats are nearly certain to lose seats. Then you would need to make more concessions on the unpopular points in the bill. And, by next year, the Senate would be even closer to the votes necessary to strip all greenhouse regulatory powers from the EPA. While the KGL bill does this as well, it also creates an energy policy and cap on emissions. If I have to give up EPA authority either way, I'd at least like to get some kind of energy policy in the process. And let me point out one more thing about the bill: it does not block states from acting. States will still be able to set renewable energy standards. If CA wants to mandate that 50% of their energy is renewable, they can. What the bill stops states from doing is regulation greenhouse gasses. This is an important distinction.
I understand the passion surrounding immigration reform, and I hope you don't take this diary to mean that I don't care about the issue. The law passed in AZ is reprehensible, and we should do everything we can to fight it. But we also need to fight climate change. If we don't, immigration will be the least of our problems.
UPDATE: Here's a statement from Joe Lieberman:
"I want to thank Senator Graham for his contribution to writing the American Power Act and I regret that allegations of partisan politics will prevent us from introducing the bill on Monday as planned.
"I know from all of our work over the past year that Senator Graham shares our commitment to this bill that will create American jobs, move us closer to energy independence, and reduce pollution. I look forward to Senator Graham rejoining our efforts after we work through the concerns that are preventing us from advancing a cause the three of us believe in so deeply.
"I remain committed to the American Power Act and am excited about what passage of the bill will do to promote energy security and invigorate our economy. I will not give up and will continue to work with Senator Kerry, Senator Graham, and the broad coalition of industry and environmental support this bill has generated to pass the American Power Act this year."