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| Climate Change Bill stuck in House - Looking for money to subsidize poor when energy price go up | ||
| 2009-05-07 | ||
| No matter what the Dems do it always comes down to redistribution of wealth. ours not theirs. As the clock ticks on a self-imposed deadline, Rep. Henry Waxman is facing fire from all sides over his landmark measure to curb carbon emissions. After months of haggling, he still doesn't have a deal that moderates will support. On Wednesday, he had to back off his threat from a day earlier to skip a key subcommittee vote after members raised a ruckus. And, to top it all off, the president and others are breathing down his neck to wrap up work on climate change so that Waxman can turn his focus to the blockbuster fight of the summer over health care reform. "Henry has some decisions to make," said Rep. Mike Doyle (D-Pa.), a key moderate voice in the negotiations. "Everyone has been very clear about where they need to be to get to 'yes.' ... The chairman has a very good read of the committee." This is the first real test for House Democrats since Barack Obama moved into the White House. Failure to move this climate change measure through the chamber would be a body blow to the whole party -- even if isn't going anywhere in the Senate. And negotiations, to this point, have only highlighted the divisions Waxman must try to bridge. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) came to the defense of the legislation on Wednesday, telling reporters, "We will be on schedule to move the energy bill, make no mistake about it. It's our highest priority. "The committee is going to work its will on its own timetable," Pelosi said. "But it will fit in the timetable to move it so we can move on to health care." Making that timetable a reality largely falls to Waxman, whose trials and tribulations are the spoils of a long-sought chairmanship. The California Democrat, who waited decades to take over for Michigan Rep. John Dingell on the Energy and Commerce Committee, is now struggling to overcome generations of lawmakers loyal to his predecessor. Waxman finds himself stuck between his longtime allies in the environmental community and a key bloc of moderate Democrats who want to protect local industries from daunting new costs established under the bill.
Waxman still left the door open for skipping over the subcommittee if a vote there would push the chairman past his Memorial Day deadline. "We're still looking at the same deadline," Waxman warned Wednesday. But the suggestion continued to not sit well with many Democrats on the subcommittee. "I would not like to see the subcommittee deprived of its jurisdiction," said Rep. G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C.), who's looking for more money for low-income households to offset higher energy costs.
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| Posted by:GolfBravoUSMC |