Climate Bill Clears Senate Committee

Despite both a Republican boycott and a stern "no" from Montana's Senator, Democrat Max Baucus, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee has just cleared its version of a climate and energy bill.

Republican members of the committee boycotted the vote to protest a lack of a complete analysis of its potential economic impact. Republicans have called the Senate climate measure and a similar measure passed by the House of Representatives a "tax" that the country can ill-afford at a time of high unemployment and economic uncertainty.

It isn't clear how much progress Senate Democrats will make on the climate issue before a United Nations conference in Copenhagen in December, where global leaders are supposed to discuss a new international treaty on climate change.

Mr. Baucus's no vote highlighted the doubts among Democrats from states dependent on coal and manufacturing about the Boxer proposal.

Since this bill calls for a 20% cut in greenhouse-gas emissions by 2020, lawmakers from coal-dependent states say this legislation will hurt their economies and are more hesitant towards the bill. Hopefully more Democrats will wake up like Baucus and stop this bill before it hurts our already injured economy!