In the wake of the massive oil spill in the Gulf Coast, Sens. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) and John Kerry (D-MA) Wednesday introduced a long-awaited climate bill that is designed to drastically reduce U.S. carbon emission and reliance on imported petroleum products.

Conspicuously absent from the unveiling of the American Power Act was Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. He had been involved in the negotiations until recently when he said that the oil spill and immigration reform would make it impossible to pass.

Minus Graham’s support, passing the bill could be a very complicated process. With 59 caucus members, the Democrats will need to hold each member, some of whom represent states set to lose from the bill, and gain at least one Republican vote to ensure that the legislation can clear a procedural hurdle.

“We’re going to fight for 60 votes to make America more competitive, safer and stronger,” Kerry said.

Even facing those long odds, Kerry sounded confident talking to reporters after announcing the introduction of the bill.

“Now is the time to take action. The path to progress has been long, but despite Washington conventional wisdom, we are closer than we’ve ever been to a breakthrough,” Kerry said. “We want to make this the Senate that finishes the job.”

The house has already passed a version of cap-and-trade. If the senate passes a bill, it would need to be reconciled with the house version, which could pose a whole host of other problems. The house version is much less industry-friendly and combining the bills could prove to be more difficult than the final push for health care reform.

One thing advocates of capping carbon emissions can count on is the support of President Obama, who has made climate change legislation a key piece of his domestic policy agenda.

“For too long, Washington has kicked this challenge to the next generation,” Obama said in support of the bill yesterday. “This time, the status quo is no longer acceptable to Americans. Now is the time for America to take control of our energy future and jump-start American innovation in clean energy technology that will allow us to create jobs, compete and win in the global economy.”

The bill seeks to reduce carbon emission 17 percent over the next decade and 80 percent by 2050. In addition, the bill would also reduce oil imports from OPEC nations by 40 percent over the next decade.

The bill is different from the house bill in that it will force reductions in carbon emission sector-by-sector whereas the house bill would regulate emissions economy-wide.

The bill provides states with incentives for offshore drilling but also allows them or neighboring states to ban drilling within 75 miles off the coast. The bill also includes incentives to produce nuclear energy.

Even with those enticements to Republicans, it appears that they will oppose the bill.

“Whatever its intentions, this bill is little more than a job-killing national energy tax,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said.

Print PDF