This morning a coalition of business leaders, Republican Lindsey Graham, Democratic senators, religious leaders, and military officials were scheduled to debut their “grand compromise” climate bill. This weekend dueling press releases and political positioning led Lindsey Graham to pull support for the climate bill however. The climate bill has been within the Senate for months and was set to ask government and companies to take payday cash advances to promote green technology and improve their environmental impact Lindsey Graham might return to the list of sponsors and also the bill isn’t entirely dead.
Lindsey Graham pulls support for climate bill
When the compromise bill was begun by senate leaders, Lindsey Graham was one of the few Republicans that showed a willingness to negotiate. Lindsey Graham, John Kerry, and Joseph Lieberman were crafting the legislation to address climate change and energy policy within the US. A comprehensive climate bill is one of the stated Obama administration priories. Without Lindsey Graham’s support, the climate bill is in question, though the White House has said it will still “work to secure bipartisan agreement.”
Reform immigration as part of climate bill
Nothing legislation caused Lindsey Graham to pull support for the climate bill. Instead, Graham calls out the White House and Democratic leaders for their insistence on an immigration reform bill in his statement removing his support for the climate bill. An immigration reform bill has been on the docket to be discussed for a long while, though the White House and Democrats have pushed for forward motion on the issue much faster. Lindsey Graham has stated that this “bait-and-switch” of issues is parallel to instant payday advances no faxing – taking one issue now at the cost of an additional later. Graham believes that highly-charged Senate debate on illegal immigration would make it very difficult, if not impossible, to discuss and pass a climate bill.
Lindsey Graham has been under significant pressure from Republican leaders to not work with Democratic senators on crafting a climate bill. Graham has had the opportunity of being the bipartisan support for contentious legislation. Graham has suggested that by putting both climate and immigration into the exact same session, leaders won’t be able to make progress on either issues. Graham explained his actions in his statement removing support saying:
“But I will not allow him to play one issue off of another, and neither will the American people. They expect us to do both, and they will not accept the notion that trying to act on one is an excuse for not acting on the other.”
So what are you thinking?
Is it possible for the Senate to address immigration and climate in the same session?
Sources for the article
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/25/us/politics/25graham.html?hp
Guardian
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/michaeltomasky/2010/apr/26/congress-republicans-graham-climate-change
