From the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, Mike Tidwell, director
Compiled and edited by Ted Glick, CCAN Policy Director
July 2, 2010
The Chesapeake Climate Action Network has launched a weekly policy update about efforts to advance “cap and dividend” legislation in the U.S. Congress. The fight for this climate policy is currently being led on Capitol Hill by Senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Susan Collins (R-ME). Last December these Senators introduced the Carbon Limits and Energy for America’s Renewal Act, or CLEAR Act, S-2877. Learn more at http://www.supportclearact.org.
Week of June 28-July 2: Two U.S. Senators, Jeff Merkley (D-Ore) and Ben Cardin (D-Md.), spoke positively about the CLEAR Act as Senate Democrats and the White House struggle to come up with offshore drilling/energy/climate legislation that can pass in the Senate. A key, bi-partisan, White House meeting helped to focus national attention on the issue but still left many questions about what, specifically, the Senate Democratic leadership will be putting forward after they return from their July 4th, weeklong recess.
In This Issue
- Senator Jeff Merkley: “You can’t run up the white flag until you have the fight”
- Senator Ben Cardin: CLEAR Act “straight-forward approach” is “an advantage”
- Washington Post reports on June 29 White House bi-partisan climate meeting
- CQ Today: Collins Open to Continuing Climate Change Change
- CongressDaily AM: ‘Cap-And Dividend’ Bill Will Get A Push At White House
#1 Senator Jeff Merkley: “You can’t run up the white flag until you have the fight”
“Susan Collins [R-Maine], working with Maria Cantwell [D-Wash.], has injected a significant idea into the debate. It says, ‘Yes, let’s put a price on carbon, but let’s not create regional disparities.’ So the funds that are paid on carbon stay in the state where they are generated. States that put more in get more back; their families get more back. That is the CLEAR bill. It’s getting more attention. Maria did a presentation to the caucus last week, and the fact that she and Susan were there today — it just keeps getting brought up. People realize the resistance to the framework in Kerry-Lieberman. They’re looking for other ways to get this done. There are many ways to skin a cat.”
#2 Senator Ben Cardin: CLEAR Act “straight-forward approach” is “an advantage”
“[Senator Cardin] said an alternative carbon-pricing plan from Sens. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) that avoids setting up a massive new carbon market could be something to build upon.
‘You’re better off having a comprehensive bill that takes a pretty simplistic approach,’ Cardin said. Cantwell and Collins ‘take a very straight-forward approach — there’s not really specific provisions in her bill and I think that’s an advantage, quite frankly.’”
#3 Washington Post reports on June 29 White House bi-partisan climate meeting
“Collins, who has authored her own climate bill with Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), said she could support a price on carbon only if revenue from pollution allowances was returned to consumers. She added, ‘It’s going to be very difficult’ to find any bill that can muster 60 votes, the number needed to avoid a filibuster in the Senate. ‘The White House meeting underscored to me how many diverse views there are on how to proceed with any clean-energy bill.’”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/29/AR2010062902586.html
#4 CQ Today: Collins Open to Continuing Climate Change Chat
“Collins said she would like to continue a chat she had with Obama on March 9, the last time he convened a bipartisan group of lawmakers to discuss global warming. Then, the White House and Democratic leaders were focused on Graham as a possible cosponsor of a bill being developed by Democrat John Kerry of Massachusetts and independent Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut. But Graham has since dropped out of the Kerry-Lieberman talks, and Democrats know that some Republican support will be needed to pass climate change legislation in the Senate.”
http://chesapeakeclimate.org/detail/news.cfm?news_id=1296
#5 CongressDaily AM: ‘Cap-And Dividend’ Bill Will Get A Push At White House
“Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., plan to tout their ‘cap-and-dividend’ climate bill when they and several other senators meet today with President Obama. It’s the only official bipartisan energy and climate legislation in the Senate. ‘I’m going to tell the president I believe the cap-and-trade approach is dead and that he should take a fresh look at the bill Maria and I have introduced,’ Collins said.
http://chesapeakeclimate.org/detail/news.cfm?news_id=1297
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CCAN encourages readers of the Cap and Dividend Policy Update to distribute it to others who might be interested. We welcome input on the contents of this publication and ideas for what could be included. Send to Ted Glick at ted@chesapeakeclimate.org. To find out more about CCAN go to http://www.chesapeakeclimate.org.
