Public Issues

Key Votes Emerging in Senate Energy Bill

In late June, the House of Representatives passed a landmark bill putting caps onK CO2 emissions, and the Senate is expected to take up the measure in late September or October. In anticipation, opponents and proponents have mounted a campaign to try to win over key senators.

The lineup of powerful opponents has fueled speculation that the climate legislation is dying. The opponents "clearly have the jump on us," acknowledges Betsy Moler, lobbyist for Chicago-based utility Exelon, a strong supporter of the bill.

The battle will be fought with ads, meetings, and calls all across the country. But ultimately the fight is "really about the hearts and minds of about 20 people," explains Exelon's Mole. They are the swing votes in the Senate. On the list: more than a dozen moderate Democrats, such as Arkansas' Blanche Lincoln, Claire McCaskill of Missouri, Byron Dorgan and Kent Conrad of North Dakota, and Mark Warner and Jim Webb of Virginia, as well as a handful of Republicans—Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, and John McCain of Arizona.

Winning over moderate Democrats will be tough so manufacturers, oil companies, and the Chamber of Commerce are spending millions of dollars on ads, rallies, and grassroots efforts to quash the bill. "Our message to senators is that the [House] bill is an anti-jobs, anti-energy piece of legislation," says Jay Timmons, executive vice-president of the National Association of Manufacturers. "It will shrink our nation's economy, make us less competitive with foreign countries, raise energy costs for consumers and businesses, take away disposable income for Americans, and cause significant job loss."

Proponents of the bill say that if Congress doesn't impose climate curbs in legislation, the EPA will step in with potentially more draconian rules that will be worse for business. In fact, the EPA has already drafted proposed justifications and rules for regulating greenhouse gases, as ordered by a 2007 Supreme Court case.

The battle ahead will be contentious and messy. Complicating matters, some environmental activists are opposing the current House bill for being too weak, while groups that want even more than they got in the House legislation, such as the farm lobby, are lining up for special treatment in a Senate bill.

Reproduced, in part, from Business Week (September 8, 2009), written by John Cary. With permission.

Websites/emails for above mentioned legislators:

Blanche Lincoln Claire McCaskill Byron Dorgan Kent Conrad Mark Warner Jim Webb Susan Collins Olympia Snowe LindseyGraham Lamar Alexander John McCain

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