By IAN TALLEY
WASHINGTON — Key Senate Democrats Tuesday said it is unlikely there will be any more major committee action on climate-change legislation this year, the strongest indication yet that a comprehensive bill to cut greenhouse-gas emissions won’t be voted on until at least next year.
Although the Senate Environment Committee last week approved a version of the bill, the proposal will face strong revisions from moderate Democrats, particularly from senators on the Finance and Agriculture committees.
“It’s common understanding that climate-change legislation will not be brought up on the Senate floor and pass the Senate this year,” Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus said on the sidelines of a caucus lunch.
…
“I wouldn’t want to bet my paycheck that all the relevant committees will report out legislation by the end of this year,” said Sen. Thomas Carper (D., Del.).
Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D., Mich.), who is leading an effort by moderate, heartland Democrats to protect manufacturing and agriculture industries, said committees were no longer under any timetables to produce legislation.
…
Even Sen. John Kerry (D., Mass.), a climate-bill champion who last week said committees should have climate legislation processed by the end of the year, Tuesday backed off such expectations. “I don’t want to create artificial deadlines which get in the way of our being methodical about this,” he said.
Instead, Mr. Kerry said he is focused on getting the 60 votes necessary to pass controversial climate legislation — a higher margin than a simple majority and no mean feat. “The main thing to do here is to build the adequate base of support and consensus,” he said.
h/t to Dr. Benny Peiser
I can’t help but think this is a feint, a diversion, a “Statue-of-Liberty Play”.
That is great news!!!!!
Obama wanted Congressional action on the matter prior to the Copenhagen Conference to bolster his (and Holdren’s) position and intent to sign the treaty. What are the implications of this delay? Will the Copenhagen Treaty supersede any Congressional action. I recall the draft treaty has some language that binds a country with the signature of a head of state.
and of course, next year is election year and with unemployment likely headed to 12% and the Republicans surging in the polls, there is no way that any of the moderate dems touch these. Even Harry Reid is way behind in his re-election race at this time.
This will not even be voted on, much less passed, and the next Congress is going to be much more conservative than this one.
The passage of Waxman-Markey in the House now looks like it is going to be the high-water mark of the warmist crusade – it looks to be all downhill from there for the movement. Let it stand as a monument to hubris for all time.
There are a lot of fascinating domino’s that are going to fall as a result of this failure in the Senate:
1) The Senate will not pass this bill – not this year, not next year, not ever.
It would be political suicide, and they know it.
2) cap and trade will thus never be implemented in the United States.
3) Copenhagen, already set to fall apart, fades into insignificance as it becomes clear taht the US, India, and China all refuse to adopt any kind of mandatory limits on their economic outputs.
4) Other, smaller countries such as Australia will abandon their efforts because it will be futile to restrict their economies when none of the largest economies are going to reciprocate. (It might take a little time, but this is inevitable.)
5) some kind of voluntary agreements will be negotiated
6) all voluntary agreements will fail to be implemented, because they will merely be political lip service to an idea whose time has passed. So pay no attention to them when they occur, they will all be nonsense.
7) Eventually even scientists will give up the cause, as it become clear that there will be no great money or power flowing from supporting it.
8) within a decade or two, Warmism will be looked at like Phrenology, as a great pseudo-scientific delusion that was overthrown by events.
Shades of the completely unConstitutional Pelosi Saturday night health bill. Blitz your senators today, stop the Statue of Liberty play. Roll your eyes about that, Nancy.
Hallelujah! Xmas comes early.
This means there will not be a ‘climate bill’ in the next three years. Congress is NOT going to pass a bill this controversial in an election year (2010) where they may provide their opponents some ammunition to attack them with. The best chance for it was last year because people would tend to forget about it during the election cycle. Oh sure, They’ll talk a good game next session, but in the end, it will die again.
By 2011 it will not be a priority for the Obama admin as it gears up for what will be a difficult re-election bid (it’s the economy, stupid, i.e. jobs, jobs, jobs) and I expect that the Republicans will gain enough in the House and Senate (usually the party in power loses 25 seats in the House and there are 19 Dem Senators up for reelection as opposed to 12 or so Republicans) to make it virtually impossible to pass the bill.
Maybe they noticed the 10.2% unemployment. Of course that is a rational thought and maybe they are really just worried about their own jobs.
Pieter F: The US Constitution holds that NO international treaty is valid unless it is approved by a 2/3 vote of the US Senate. The chief executive (President) does NOT have the constitutional right to bind the country to an action with his signature alone.
Many people forget that the Clinton administration signed on to the Kyoto accords – but the US Senate rejected that treaty by a 95-0 vote. (Strange that so many blame Bush for that rejection, when it happened 2 years before he was even elected)
Also, (and this comment isn’t very politically correct, but it is true) the US has a long history, especially in the 19th century, of signing dozens of treaties that looked good at the time and then just ripping them up and throwing them in the trash as soon as they don’t suit us anymore. That’s life in the real world. Enforcement of treaty obligations always comes down to, literally, “who’s gonna make me? You and what army?”
@ur momisugly Pieter F (07:38:35) :
Obama wanted Congressional action on the matter prior to the Copenhagen Conference to bolster his (and Holdren’s) position and intent to sign the treaty. What are the implications of this delay? Will the Copenhagen Treaty supersede any Congressional action. I recall the draft treaty has some language that binds a country with the signature of a head of state.
_____________________________
For the US that text doesn’t matter and is not ‘legally binding’. Constitutionally no treaty is ‘signed’ until the Senate votes 2/3 to ratify. Purposely done that way to limit the power of the Chief Executive.
Not surprising; the Senate isn’t going to make much progress on this until they’re done with health care, which itself may not be done this year.
Pieter F: Pretty much everybody had already assumed Congress wouldn’t have anything passed before Copenhagen. It will make Copenhagen negotiations rather difficult, as everybody else in the world knows that Obama’s negotiators can’t promise that the US Senate will ratify any agreement. No, the treaty doesn’t supersede anything; the Senate will always have to ratify.
I remember reading that Waxan-Markey passing the House, but not the Senate gives this administration some leverage in Copenhagen talks. How, I don’t know. Especially since Copenhagen seems to be falling apart before our very eyes.
It’ll be even harder if you in the US have a bad winter
A view from the BBC (Newsnight BBC2)
Excellent, that much more time to kill it completely!!!
wws
Good encapsulation which I truly hope materializes. I am hoping for swifter action however. One year ago I told my college classes that my prediction was that the climate change juggernaut would come crashing down around the warmist’s ear within about three years. Some of those students will still be in college by my deadline, so I am hoping this quite brush-under-the-rug by the Senate will actually be the clarion note of the death knell for this idiocy.
Does this mean Senate Democrats don’t believe it is really a jobs bill or they just can’t sell it as a jobs bill?
It seems weak that legislators who oppose a Climate Bill mostly do it on economic arguments, or to protect their constituencies. There is almost no open debate in the US Congress about the validity of the science behind the so-called consensus.
As long as the AGW scientific foundation is not openly questionned and eventually discredited in political circles, attempts to legislate coercitive CO2 control measures and taxes will be repeated until a compromise is reached.
Even a compromise would be very bad news if there is no man-made global warming.
Copenhagen shmokenhagen. The movement is withering as loyalists make even bigger fools of themselves.
However, the many causes which hitched their agenda to AGW will merely shift their advocacy to new lies and manipulation.
That’s how they get funded.
I hope that you are right and that this goes away but it seems to me that you guys are forgetting about Carol Browner and the EPA.
Alittle O/T What most people don’t know ,or have forgot ,is most of these same congressman and women ,and our current leader Obama,were in congress under President Bush.They wan’t to blame the previous administraton for everthing yet these same democrats were in charge and have been since 2006 when dems took control of congress.
Seems to me the EPA night take over where the senate is leaving off. Remember your not paranoid if everyone really is out to get you
Quick! Don’t let up! Even more Proper Science needed, or the beast will rise again!
wws (07:45:05) :
8) within a decade or two, Warmism will be looked at like Phrenology, as a great pseudo-scientific delusion that was overthrown by events.
Yeah, they’re kind of lowbrow.
With next year only 2.5 months away, I don’t find this very reassuring!
“Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D., Mich.), who is leading an effort by moderate, heartland Democrats to protect manufacturing and agriculture industries, said committees were no longer under any timetables to produce legislation.”
Having in-laws in Michigan-the place is completely fallen apart. You want to really kill what’s left of auto industry? go ahead light that Hemp wicked petard…
Oregon’s not much better and the Blue Islanders have not a clue.We in the Red Sea
of Oregon do.BTW I haven’t seen any birds at my feeders for two weeks.Bit unusual.
Look for a series of amendments to other bills.