Senate Environment Committee Bypasses Republicans, Approves Cap and Trade Bill

Following a three-day Republican boycott of a Senate Environment and Public Works Committee business meeting to consider S. 1733, the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act, Chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and ten Democrats voted to approve the bill without considering any amendments.  None of the panel's Republican members were present for the vote.  Senator Max Baucus (D-Mont.) was the lone Democrat to vote against the measure. Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Sen. Boxer introduced S. 1733 on September 30, 2009, and have subsequently released two substitute versions of the bill that provide important details of the legislation, including the allocation of free allowances (i.e., permits to emit pollutants) and distribution of auctioned allowance revenues.  Republicans on and off the panel - including Republicans moderate on climate change - have called for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to conduct additional analysis to assess the cost of the bill to the economy.  Senator Boxer and other Democrat allies have insisted that EPA's current analysis is adequate and "unprecedented," and denied repeated Republican entreaties to delay Committee consideration of the legislation. At least five other Senate committees have jurisdiction over energy and climate change legislation; only the Environment and Public Works and Energy and Natural Resources Committees have acted to date.  With the Senate slated to consider health care and other year-end priorities, such as the remaining federal spending bills and tax extenders, the full Senate may not consider comprehensive legislation until 2010.  Passage of the bill in the Senate remains uncertain.  AGC has prepared a document, Top Ten Things Contractors Need to Know about Climate Change, to summarize AGC's concerns with energy and climate change legislation.  AGC encourages members to express their concerns with the Senate climate change bill by contacting their Senators using AGC's Legislative Action Center.  For more information on pending climate change regulatory and legislative efforts and AGC's activities, please visit AGC's Energy and Climate Change Web site.