Nick Snow
Washington Editor
With energy and climate legislation unlikely to pass during the 111th Congress, US House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry W. Waxman (D-Calif.) urged the US Chamber of Commerce on Oct. 19 to work constructively with lawmakers on developing a bill that lawmakers in the 112th would approve.
"This has been a very difficult 2 years with respect to energy and climate legislation in the US," Waxman said in an address to the nation's largest business organization at its summit marking the US-Israel Free Trade Agreement's 25th anniversary. "We passed far-reaching energy and climate legislation in the House, but it did not find favor in the Senate, even though our bill was supported by some of the most prominent [chief executive officers] in the country."
The House passed HR 2454, which Waxman cosponsored with Energy and Environment Subcommittee Chairman Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), by 219 to 226 votes on June 26, 2009. The measure's centerpiece was a domestic carbon cap-and-trade program which proponents said would be the first major step in controlling greenhouse gas emissions. Opponents argued that the program would make US businesses less competitive globally without meaningful foreign participation.
The US Senate Environment and Public Works Committee passed similar legislation, S 1733, on Nov. 5, 2009, in an 11-1 vote despite Republican members boycotting the proceedings. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) cast the single no vote. The bill, which committee chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.), was sent to the full Senate but never taken up. Oil and gas trade associations opposed both bills because they favored one industry over another and, in the case of refiners, made them responsible for controlling emissions farther downstream.
The legislation could have been a turning point, Waxman said on Oct. 19. "It would have provided certainty to industry, unlocked billions in private sector investment, and set the US on a path to protect the environment from global warming," he said. "It would have set us firmly on the course, at long last, toward energy independence. It would have been a catalyst for a united international effort. And it was a jobs bill. Millions of clean energy jobs can be created with the right policies."
The US cannot advance its industrial leadership in clean energy technology and jobs without an effective energy policy, he maintained. The Chamber of Commerce has been on the opposite of this issue for too long, he added.
"The Chamber pulled no punches in attacking my legislation," Waxman told the group. "But wrestling each other into a stalemate is not a solution. We need a comprehensive energy and climate policy that puts a price on carbon and harnesses market forces. It is my hope that, in the next Congress, we can find a way to work together, on a commonsense basis, to address these issues and move forward together."
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