House Narrowly Passes Landmark Climate Bill

House Narrowly Passes Landmark Climate Bill

By Steven T. Dennis
Roll Call Staff
June 26, 2009, 7:17 p.m.

The House passed sweeping climate change legislation on a 219-212 vote Friday afternoon, delivering a major victory for President Barack Obama and Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to cap the first half of the year.

Obama, Pelosi and Democratic leaders had launched an all-out lobbying effort at the start of the week and were whipping the bill right up to the vote. It was unclear all day whether Democrats had enough votes to clear the package, with leaders acknowledging the vote would be razor-thin.

Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) stalled the passage of the bill for over an hour by reading the bulk of a 300-page Peterson-Waxman compromise amendment on the House floor.

He contended that no Member of the House had time to read the lengthy amendment because it was filed at 3 a.m. Friday.

Energy and Commerce Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) attempted to stop Boehner about 10 minutes into the Ohio Republican’s one-man filibuster and requested that Speaker Pro Tem Ellen Tauscher (D-Calif.), who was confirmed Friday to a State Department position, limit the time that Boehner could consume.

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Most of the big environmental organizations, including the League of Conservation Voters, Sierra Club, National Wildlife Federation, and Environmental Defense Fund, are holding to the “strengthen and pass” motto.

Sierra Club Energy and Global Warming Program Director David Hamilton told Grist he thinks that the bill will be amended to encourage more government purchasing of renewable energy. Hamilton said Waxman and Markey asked for suggestions on how to improve it without threatening the fragile compromise with Peterson. “They said give us things that won’t screw up the deal, but be creative about where you get them,” he said.

What can be done?

The biggest flaws environmental organizations have identified in Waxman-Markey include the removal of the EPA’s authority to regulate greenhouse gas regulations under the Clean Air Act, the grandfathering of old coal-fired power plants in the initial years of the cap-and-trade program, and the delay in considering the climate impacts of indirect land use in biofuel production, among others.

Sierra Club’s Hamilton, like many others in the environmental community, said he is not expecting there to be too much room for improvement in this week’s debate. Amendments can be submitted up until 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, but the Rules Committee—consulting closely with House leaders like Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Waxman, and Markey—gets to decide which amendments get a vote. Due to the tenuous nature of the deal Democrats have forged, it’s unlikely that the Democratic leadership would permit amendments that could jeopardize the deal. They will likely, however, permit minor strengthening amendments to please more progressive members and to prevent floor debate from being limited to only Republican amendments.

“I think there is minimal opportunity for strengthening on the House floor,” said Hamilton.

LCV’s Nayak said the Democrats’ tight hold on how the House debate will unfold means there will be few opportunities for opponents to weaken the legislation. “A lot of the deals that have been cut have chipped away at it already,” said Nayak. “So I think there’s hope that some of the big weakening issues ... will be avoided.”