Senate Democrats Push for a Climate Change Bill

On June 25, the House passed the American Climate and Energy Security (ACES) Act by a 219 to 212 vote. ACES calls for a 17 percent cut in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2020 from 2005 levels, and an 83 percent reduction by 2050. Yesterday, Senate Democrats in Senate began to push a Senate the climate change bill.

The House bill (ACES) calls for a 17 percent reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2020 from 2005 levels, and an 83 percent reduction by 2050. It would create a cap-and-trade program which would require U.S. industries to purchase emissions permits.

Some environmental groups criticized ACES. Greenpeace called it a piece of legislation “already in need of improvement when first released as a discussion draft in March and has become severely worse.” Phil Radford, Greenpeace USA Executive Director, issued the following statement about the House bill:

“Despite the best efforts of Chairman Waxman, this bill has been seriously undermined by the lobbying of industries more concerned with profits than the plight of our planet. While science clearly tells us that only dramatic action can prevent global warming and its catastrophic impacts, this bill has fallen prey to political infighting and industry pressure. We cannot support this bill in its current state. We call on President Obama and leaders in Congress to get back to work and produce a bill, based on science, which presents a clear road map for significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions, transforms our economy with clean, renewable energy technology, generates new green jobs and shows real leadership internationally.”

Friends of the Earth (FOE) criticized ACES because it would eliminate the Environmental Protection Agency’s current authority to reduce GHG emissions under the Clean Air Act. FOE called the cap-and-trade system ACES would create “flawed,” and stated that it would “undermine investment in technology development.”

FOE also criticized ACES for lacking “significant penalties for corporations that violate it,” unlike the Clean Air Act. If the cap-and-trade system experiences problems, “the EPA will not be allowed to step into the breach.”

David Hamilton of the Sierra Club questioned the effectiveness of ACES cap-and-trade system, but hoped that environmental groups would be successful in pushing for a better Senate bill. "Do, at some point, we try to bank what the politics allows?" Hamilton said. "Our judgment in this case is that we're going to keep trying with the bill" in the Senate.

Frank O’Donnell of the Clean Air Watch said “We’re saying it sure as heck ought to get better in the Senate, or it’s going to be a sorry day.”

Democratic House members who voted for the bill expressed their objections to it. Rep. Dennis Kucinich (OH) said, in a statement, ACES “might make the problem worse.” He listed aspects of the bill he thinks are problematic:

1. Overall targets are too weak.
2. The offsets undercut the emission reductions.
3. It delays significant emissions reductions.
4. EPA’s authority to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the short- to medium-term is rescinded.
5. Nuclear power is given a lifeline instead of phasing it out.
6. Dirty Coal is given a lifeline instead of phasing it out.
7. The $60 billion allocated for Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS) is triple the amount of money for basic research and development in the bill.
8. Carbon markets can and will be manipulated using the same Wall Street sleights of hand that brought us the financial crisis.
9. It is regressive. Free allocations doled out with the intent of blunting the effects on those of modest means will pale in comparison to the allocations that go to polluters and special interests.
10. The Renewable Electricity Standard (RES) is not an improvement. The 15% RES standard would be achieved even if we failed to act.
11. Dirty energy options qualify as “renewable.”
12. It undermines our bargaining position in international negotiations in Copenhagen and beyond.
13. International assistance is much less than demanded by developing countries.

Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Tex.) issued a statement saying he couldn't support the bill as written because “it is too weak to greatly spur new technologies and green jobs.”

Update on the Stimulus

The Senate passed its version of the stimulus package today. Sixty-one voted in favor, with 36 opposed. Three Republicans voted in favor: Senators Susan Collins, Olympia Snowe and Arlen Specter. The Senate's stimulus bill totaled $827 billion. The House bill totaled $820 billion.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid called for a final vote on the combined senate and house bill tomorrow at 9 pm PST/12pm ET.

Obama held first prime time press conference

Tonight President Obama held his first prime time press conference with the financial crisis as his main topic. He pushed the stimulus package, and declared that "only government" can break the "visicious cycle" of job losses which lead people to spend less money, causing more job losses.

The most important feature of the stimulus package, Obama said, is the "fact that it will save or create up to 4 million jobs, because that's what America needs most right now." Over 90 percent of the jobs created by the stimulus package, according to Obama, "will be in the private sector."The Two

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Breakdown of environmentally-friendly stimulus spending

The Senate and House version both contain funds for mass transportation, renewable energy, energy efficiency, and energy transmission. 

Renewable energy, energy efficiency, and energy transmission received $53.8 billion ($48.9 billion in the House version), with $14.4 billion for energy efficiency and renewable energy programs. The House version is $18.5 billion, with $6.2 billion of it for weatherization and $7.9 billion for energy grants to states. 

Renewable energy systems and electric transmission projects would receive $10 billion in federal loan guarantees. The House version only provides $8 billion. Federal power marketing administrations would receive $6.5 billion to build new electricity transmission systems under both the Senate and House versions. Smart grid technology received $4.6 billion from both the Senate and House. 

Renewable energy projects that are large scale would receive $11 billion in both the Senate and House versions. Companies that manufacture equipment for renewable energy would receive a tax credit of equal to 30 percent of their investment. 

The Senate bill provides $10.7 billion to make federal buildings and vehicle fleets energy efficient. The House version provides $8.7 billion. 

The Department of Defense would receive $3.4 billion to make its buildings energy efficient, but in the House version would receive $4.5 billion. 

Enviromental remediation would receive $7.8 billion in the Senate version, and $6.4 billion in the House version.

Manufacturers of advanced battery systems would receive $2 billion in loan guarantees in the Senate version. 

The Senate bill provides $46 billion in funds for transportation projects:

• $27 billion for highway and bridge construction and repair 
  
• $11.5 billion for mass transit and rail projects
  
• $4.6 billion for the Army Corps of Engineers
  
• $5 billion for public housing improvements
  
• $6.4 billion for clean and drinking water projects
  

Senators to Debate Stimulus Bill Monday

The Senate spent about three hours Saturday debating the economic stimulus package. Monday they will continue the debate, and a vote as soon as Tuesday might come. The stimulus is trimmed to $780 billion, according to CNN.

Unfortunately, energy efficiency will receive less, with a $3.5 billion cut from $7 billion to make federal buildings more energy efficient. The Environmental Protection Agency Superfund will receive $600 million instead of $800 million. Funds for a federal fleet of hybrid vehicles were cut in half from $600 million. Energy loan guarentees totaling $1 billion were cut completely, as was $1.2 billion for retrofitting Project Eight housing.

During President Obama's weekly address he said, "The scale and scope of the plan is right." He reminded the American people that using a "losing formula that offers only tax cuts as the answer for all our problems" will not work. The stimulus package, according to Obama, will save or created three million jobs.

Democratic Senators defended the stimulus package. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (NJ) said, "An investment today means an opportunity for tomorrow. It improves the functioning of our society. The economic recovery act will do those things today so that in years ahead we can educate our kids, keep them healthy."

The Democratic Whip, Sen. Dick Durbin (IL) said, "We're going to work this out. It's a large bill and we have a limited amount of time...We have to do something quickly, boldly."

Republican Senators have continued to complain about the size of the stimulus, reminding the American people of the federal deficit. Sen. Jim Risch called the stimulus a "giant fraud on the American people."

During a Senate debate earlier in the week, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham waved the bill around, saying, "look at this bill." Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer (CA) called waving the bill around "theatrical," and asked Graham if he did that "when George Bush was president and he sent down a bill twice as big as that?"

Spending massive amounts on infrastructure and other projects to stimulate the economy goes back to British John Maynard Keynes, a famous economist whose theories somewhat influenced former President Franklin D. Roosevelt's economic policies. However, in 1934 Keynes visited Roosevelt and spoke to him about spending more. According to a New York Times article last month, Roosevelt was "either unimpressed or uncomprehending." As a result it took the massive spending on World War II to revive the American economy.

A Harvard economic professor told the New York Times he hopes "Obama is going to do better" than Roosevelt did. New York University professor, Richard Sylla said there is a lesson to be learned from Roosevelt, namely that "the government has to do much more than it has doen so far."