Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Senate 'Sleep Over' Illustrates Pitiful State of Climate Change Policy

PRESIDENT'S CORNER

By Norris McDonald

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and about 28 other Democrats stayed up all night Monday in a takathon on climate change on the Senate floor.  Democrats control the Senate with 55 seats, but the issue is apparently not so pressing that they could rally the rest of their Senate majority to show up. And it isn't so pressing that Mr. Reid plans to bring any legislation to the Senate floor.

Mr. Reid won't do so because he knows he would lose. In 2010, Harry Reid pulled a cap-and-trade bill from the Senate floor when Democrats had 59 seats and the House had already passed a similar bill. Global warming supporters in the Senate know that a vote on cap and trade, or a carbon tax, or any other measure to raise energy prices would probably end their political careers.

So we are left to depend on pending EPA regulations that will not survive court and technology challenges.  America does not have a global warming mitigation policy.

Interestingly, hedge-fund billionaire Tom Steyer has pledged to raise and spend $100 million, including $50 million of his own money, to elect Democrats this year who say they want to do something about climate change.  (WSJ, 3/11/2014)

No comments:

Post a Comment