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To almost no one's surprise, the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act died unceremoniously this morning. If Congress is to ever implement a comprehensive climate change bill, it will now happen under either President McCain or Obama.
Supporters fell a dozen votes short of making the legislation filibuster-proof. The final tally of 48-36 was specifically on cloture for Senator Barbara Boxer’s (D-CA) 491-page substitute amendment -- the same amendment that Republicans made Senate clerks spend nine hours reading aloud two days ago. The vote forced Majority Leader Harry Reid to withdraw the full bill, and again we wait until next year.
Just to recap, this is a bill that would have capped CO2 emissions from power plants, refineries and factories, with a target of cutting GHG emissions by 71 percent by 2050. Though not without its flaws, it quickly became apparent this week that Republicans had no interest in debating the merits of the legislation, and we ended up with three days of stall tactics and rhetoric about energy prices and "the huge tax increase."
Because you should know, here's a breakdown of how the voting unfolded:
Democrats who joined Republicans in voting to end debate: Byron Dorgan (N.D.), Mary Landrieu (La.), Tim Johnson (S.D.) and Sherrod Brown (Ohio).
Republicans who joined most Democrats to move ahead with the bill: John Warner (Va.), Susan Collins (Maine), Mel Martinez (Fla.), Elizabeth Dole (N.C.), John Sununu (N.H.), olympia Snowe (Maine) and Gordon Smith (Ore.).
Did not vote: Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.), Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.), Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.), Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), Joe Biden (D-Del.), Norm Coleman (R-Minn.), Larry Craig (R-Idaho), John Cornyn (R-Tex.), Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), Judd Gregg (R-N.H.), Lindey Graham (R-S.C.), Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Ted Stevens (R-Alaska).
We should note that Biden, Clinton, Coleman, Kennedy, McCain, and Obama submitted statements indicating they would have voted for cloture, but that still would have left the majority six votes short of preventing a filibuster. |
