Obama Cabinet Members Go to Senate

This story appears in the July 13 print edition of Transport Topics.

The Senate last week kicked off debate on an energy bill that includes a controversial cap-and-trade provision to limit carbon emissions, summoning four top Obama administration officials to testify before the committee that will craft the Senate version of climate change and energy policy legislation.

Even with 60 Democrats in the Senate, a Senate version of cap-and-trade faces some of the same hurdles it did in the House, where it passed June 26 with only one more vote than required for approval. “We have a long battle ahead of us,” Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), said at a July 7 committee hearing.

Republicans on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee stated that they opposed cap-and-trade provisions contained in the greenhouse gas bill recently approved by the House of Representatives (click here for previous story).

Sen. James Inhofe (R-Mo.), the committee’s top-ranking Republican, predicted that the Senate would not approve the House bill’s cap-and-trade provision. He said it would it cause a spike in utilities and fuel costs, and do little to ease global warming because India and China have no plans to also cap their greenhouse gas emissions.

Several Republicans said they hoped that the bill wouldn’t move too fast through the Senate and asked for several hearings before a vote, expected sometime this fall.

“You can be sure of this: Once the American public realizes what this legislation will do to their wallets, they will resoundingly reject it,” Inhofe said. “Perhaps that explains why we are rushing cap-and-trade through the Senate.”

Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), chairwoman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, had planned to seek committee approval for the bill by August, but she told reporters on July 9 that she had decided to delay action until Congress returns from its summer recess in September.Several Obama administration officials testified at the hearing. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, Secretary of Interior Kenneth  Salazar and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson all voiced their support for the House cap-and-trade bill.

“Denial of the climate change problem will not change our destiny,” Chu told the committee. “A comprehensive energy and climate bill that caps then reduces carbon emissions will.”

“I expect you will hear fierce words of doubt and fear and worse from the other side of the aisle regarding our legislative efforts to move forward with clean energy jobs legislation,” Boxer said.

Several Republicans on the committee said that the Obama administration should attempt to build more nuclear power plants be-cause they can provide cheaper, carbon-free energy.