DUSTIN GAWRYLOW: THE RETURN OF CAP & TRADE
If you enjoyed the lack of transparency shown by the Senate when crafting their version of Obamacare, you will love the way they plan on crafting the Cap and Trade legislation.
Next week, Harry Reid will be handed the reins of the bill to cap greenhouse gas emissions while expanding domestic oil, gas and nuclear power production.
In an effort to keep the bill in Reid's hands, the sponsors - Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) won't officially introduce the bill in the Senate when they unveil it to the public next week
"If we introduce it, it'll get referred to committees," Lieberman said. "We want him [Reid] to be able to work with it and bring it out onto the floor as a leader whenever he's ready.
In an effort to keep the bill in Reid's hands, the sponsors - Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) won't officially introduce the bill in the Senate when they unveil it to the public next week
"If we introduce it, it'll get referred to committees," Lieberman said. "We want him [Reid] to be able to work with it and bring it out onto the floor as a leader whenever he's ready.
Already, some senators also are raising red flags about the committee process, which they warn may be circumvented if the Kerry-Graham-Lieberman proposal moves directly into Reid's office.
"These bills need to go through committee," said Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.). "If you're talking about making major deals on energy policy, it needs to go through the Energy Committee. If you're making major deals on tax policy, it needs to go through the Finance Committee. I mean, if you want to get it done."
Budget Committee ranking member Judd Gregg (R-N.H.), a possible swing vote, said he would prefer the committee process remain intact for the energy and climate bill - rather than shifting the debate into Reid's office. "This concept of going through the leader's office is a new concept in the legislative flow chart," Gregg said.
Budget Committee ranking member Judd Gregg (R-N.H.), a possible swing vote, said he would prefer the committee process remain intact for the energy and climate bill - rather than shifting the debate into Reid's office. "This concept of going through the leader's office is a new concept in the legislative flow chart," Gregg said.
Speaking on the Senate floor yesterday, Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) repeated his call to move to floor debate on S. 1462, the "energy only" approach
"There are not a lot of weeks left in this legislative session, and my fervent hope is, I would say to those who have been working on climate change and blocking our ability to bring an energy bill to the floor of the Senate, I hope perhaps we could find a way to work together to bring the energy bill to the floor," Dorgan said.
"That's the way the Senate works. The Senate works by running things through a committee."
Funny how Senator Dorgan is now, all of a sudden, concerned with "the way the Senate works. He did not seem to mind abusing the process last month.
DakotaBeacon