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Climate Action in Congress

Climate Action in the House

On June 26, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (ACES Act), H.R. 2454, by a vote of 219 to 212. This comprehensive national climate and energy legislation would establish an economy-wide, greenhouse gas (GHG) cap-and-trade system and critical complementary measures to help address climate change and build a clean energy economy. The legislation was introduced into the House Energy and Commerce Committee by Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Rep. Edward Markey (D-MA), chairman of the Subcommittee on Energy and the Environment, on May 15.

Key Legislation in the House:

 

Climate Action in the Senate

Now that the House has passed the ACES Act, similar legislation is under consideration in the U.S. Senate. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, chaired by Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), passed the American Clean Energy Leadership Act of 2009 (S.1462) on June 17, 2009. This bill addresses several energy issues, including many addressed under the ACES Act. On November 5, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, chaired by Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA), passed the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act of 2009 (S.1733), which draws heavily from the ACES Act and establishes a cap-and-trade system.

As four other Senate committees hold jurisdiction over the legislation – Agriculture, Commerce, Finance, and Foreign Affairs - the timing of the climate change debate within the broader Congressional agenda remains unclear. Sens. John Kerry (D-MA), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), and Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) worked outside of the committee process to broaden the base of support for comprehensive climate legislation within the Senate. Sens. Kerry and Lieberman released their draft discussion of their American Power Act on May 12, 2010. Sen. Graham left the process in late April.

Progress advances towards climate legislation as Senators of both parties continue to introduce bills that move the debate towards a single piece of comprehensive legislation. On June 9, Sen. Dick Lugar (R-IN) introduced his Practical Energy and Climate Plan (S.3464). Lugar's bill starkly contrasts with other climate legislative proposals in that it does not put a price on carbon. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) is expected to combine the various elements into a comprehensive bill that he will bring to the Senate floor in July. If the Senate passes this "combined" bill, differences between the Senate and House bills would have to be reconciled, with the final bill passed by both houses, before the bill could be sent to President Obama and signed into law.

There is an opportunity to get a clean energy and climate bill that includes cap and trade passed in this Congress and enacted by the President. The Pew Center continues to strongly believe that achieving this goal requires two important elements: leadership by the Obama administration and greater bipartisanship in the Senate.

Key Legislation in the Current Senate: