Congress May Act On Energy in 2011; Climate Not A Focus

Democrats in the House and Senate say that Congress will not take up comprehensive climate and energy legislation as a result of the November 2010 election.

In the Senate, though, Democratic and Republican leaders say there is likely to be new energy legislation proposed in 2011 that involve smaller steps to fund research and provide incentives for fossil fuels and clean energy alternatives. Republican House leaders have not disclosed their preferences for energy legislation.

Along with advancing federal investment another big Congressional focus for clean energy and climate advocates is to defend the Obama administration's use of the Clean Air Act to regulate emissions of climate changing gases in vehicles and major manufacturing and processing plants.

In November, Republican candidates - many of whom campaigned aggressively against climate science and emissions reductions - gained 60 seats in the House, bringing the G.O.P. majority to 240-195. Republicans gained six seats in the Senate where Democrats retained the majority 53-47.

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In 2009 A Spark on Climate and Clean Energy. In 2010 Progress Halted

On June 26, 2009, The House of Representatives passed a sweeping climate and energy bill, The American Clean Energy & Security Act, with a vote of 219-212. It was the first time a U.S. chamber of Congress has passed a bill that sets mandatory limits on greenhouse gas emissions. In his weekly address a day after the vote, President Obama said the legislation was "historic" and would "open the door to a clean energy economy and a better future for America." It would require 17 percent emission reductions below 2005 levels by 2020, and 83 percent below 2005 levels by 2050. After months of work by Senate champions to move a companion climate and energy bill that would garner the 60-votes needed to pass, the effort was not successful. Corporate polluters and their friends in Congress were able to defeat critical policies that would create clean energy jobs, reduce our dependence on oil and reduce global warming pollution.

Majority Leader Reid announced on July 22 that a much less ambitious bill will be introduced that focuses on a response to the BP Gulf disaster, improvements to energy efficiency, converting vehicle fleets to natural gas, and other narrower energy measures. The Senate could take this bill up in the fall or after the election. In the dispiriting hours after the announcement climate advocates and Senate leaders agreed that the Earth is warming dangerously, the nation will suffer economically as climate change accelerates, and that giving up is not an option. “If we can’t do it in the next weeks, we’ll do something that begins to do something responsibly in the short term,” said Senator John Kerry, the Senate’s most important climate action leader. “But this will stay out there, and we’ll be working on it. We’ll be asking you to talk to your senators and move them to understand why we have to get this done.”

“The twin challenges of building a clean energy economy and addressing global warming are too important to fail,” said Gene Karpinski, the president of the League of Conservation Voters. “The fight to create new clean energy jobs and solve the climate crisis will continue — in this Congress, in the states and at the EPA.”

Senate Climate and Energy Action

American Power Act

In May 2010, New England Senators John Kerry and Joe Lieberman introduced comprehensive clean energy and climate legislation that they say will change the direction of some of the nation’s toughest systemic problems — economic competitiveness, energy security, job loss, and environmental safety. The bill sets a goal of reducing emissions in line with the House-passed American Clean Energy and Security Act -- 17 percent by 2020 and 83 percent by 2050. Read more »

CLEAR Act

In December 2009, Senators Maria Cantwell, a Democrat of Washington, and Susan Collins, a Republican of Maine, introduced the Carbon Limits and Energy for American Renewal (CLEAR) Act which would set up a program for cutting carbon emissions by selling "carbon shares" to fuel producers. Most of the resulting revenue would generate checks to every American to compensate increased energy prices. Analysts say the bill would reduce emissions 1-5 percent by 2020. Read more »

Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act

In September 2009, Democratic Senators Barbara Boxer of California and John Kerry of Massachusetts introduced the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act, and 821-page proposal to reduce carbon emissions 20 percent by 2020 and 80 percent by mid-century. The bill includes significant public investment in clean energy research, as well as provisions to generate electricity from natural gas and nuclear power and support carbon capture and storage research. Read more »

American Clean Energy Leadership Act

On June 17, 2009, the American Clean Energy Leadership Act (ACELA) passed out of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on a bipartisan vote of 15 to 8. Sponsored by the committee's Chair Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), the energy bill offers provisions to increase energy production, encourage energy efficiency, boost renewable energy standards, enhance transmission networks and fund research and development in new technologies. Read more »

House Climate Action

American Clean Energy and Security Act

On June 26, 2009, the House of Representatives passed a sweeping climate and energy bill, the first time a U.S. chamber of Congress has passed a bill that sets mandatory limits on greenhouse gas emissions (17 percent reductions by 2020). In his weekly address a day after the vote, President Obama said the legislation was "historic" and would "open the door to a clean energy economy and a better future for America." Read more »