Community | November 05, 2009 | 19 comments

Democrats advance hotly contested climate bill

source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33654729/ns/us_news-environment/

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WASHINGTON - Senate Democrats on a key committee on Thursday ignored a Republican boycott and pushed a climate bill through by a 11 to 1 vote. But the committee chairman also noted that she's willing to amend the bill to make it more palatable and to get the 60 votes needed to pass the full Senate.

Sen. Barbara Boxer specifically cited the compromise approach floated on Wednesday by Republican Lindsey Graham, Democrat John Kerry and independent Joseph Lieberman.

"This bill is already being worked on by Senators Kerry, Lieberman, Graham and others," she said in a press release.

Boxer had delayed the crucial vote in the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee for days because of a Republican protest over whether the cost of the legislation had been fully examined by the Environmental Protection Agency.

"We found, after questioning the EPA extensively, that the Republicans’ demand for another EPA analysis now would be duplicative and a waste of taxpayer dollars," Boxer said.

"The absence of the Republicans during the EPA’s presentation was a clear message that their criticism of the EPA analysis was not a substantive one," she added. "Indeed, the EPA said their economic analysis was 'unprecedented' in scope and was never done for any other energy or climate bill at this stage of the process."

On Thursday, Boxer moved quickly to pass the bill without the help any of the seven GOP senators in the room. No amendments were considered.

The bill calls for cutting greenhouse gases from power plants and factories by 83 percent by 2050.

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http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33654729/ns/us_news-environment/
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