No Surprise: Global Warming Bill Delayed in Senate

Dan Holler / July 09, 2009

Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman Barbara Boxer (D-CA) has abandoned her plans to draft and mark-up a comprehensive national energy tax modeled after the House-passed Waxman-Markey bill before Congress’s August recess. According to Reuters, Boxer promised, “we’ll do it as soon as we get back” from our month-long vacation.

This should not come as surprise, as problems with the bill were beginning to mount. Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) have engaged in a very public debate over “carbon tariffs” with Senator John Kerry (D-MA) and President Barack Obama. Several other Senators, including the powerful Agriculture Committee Chairman Tom Harkin (D-IA) have suggested that much more needs to be done on the agricultural offset side, and the bill could slip into next year. Further complicating matters is the struggle over who gets the tax revenue generated from auctioning off allowances. Close sources suggest Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) is fighting with Boxer on how that revenue is spent. (more…)