Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is getting antsy about climate change legislation coming together: The Washington Post reports that Senator Reid (D-NV) called Senator Kerry (D-MA) on Monday to tell him that a bill needs to be produced--stat.
As we've mentioned here on TakePart, Senator John Kerry has been working with Senators Lindsey Graham and Joe Lieberman to create a new bipartisan (shall we say tripartisan, given Lieberman’s Independent status?) climate change bill capable of passing the august upper chamber of Congress. Given the political climate we’ve seen as of late, cross-aisle collaboration may be the best shot the Senate has at passing the bill.
Following his phone conversation with Senator Reid, Senator Kerry met with Senators Graham (R-SC) and Lieberman (I-CT), then met with Senator Reid in person on Tuesday. The end result? Senator Kerry thinks that they can get the bill out within two weeks.
Man, Harry Reid. What a taskmaster.
The Post quotes a statement made by Senator Kerry.
“ The majority leader is deadly serious about making progress this year on climate and energy reform," Kerry said in a statement. "He's been a hero every step of the process and he's been in constant communication. Senators Lieberman, Graham and I have been meeting every day and we're on a short track here, piecing together legislation and working with our colleagues so it can be finished and rolled out soon. ”
If this bill gets into the Senate (or Senate committee, possibly) by mid-March, the bill's approval becomes a question of whether any vulnerable legislators will try to stall discussion until after November's mid-term elections. However, now that some energy companies are lobbying for a carbon cap, Senators who would normally oppose a climate change bill might be persuaded sing a different tune.
Regardless of any finagling, Reid's persistence is a promising step toward getting climate change legislation back on the radar. This issue hasn’t gone away just because Copenhagen came and went.
So write your Congresspeople, people. Let’s get this done.
capital building: Rob Crawley's flickr photostream/Creative Commons
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