Climate change bill passes Energy Committee

The Energy and Commerce Committee on Thursday night completed their markup of major climate change legislation, passing the bill out of committee on a 33-25 vote.

Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) was dogged for weeks by skeptics believing he could not convince enough Democrats on his panel to support legislation setting up a carbon cap and trading system that aimed to drastically reduce carbon emissions. Then, after brokering a deal with many of those Democrats, he had more skeptics who said his goal of completing committee work on the bill by Thursday was a “dream.”

{mosads}But Waxman completed his mission.

He gained one Republican vote – that of California Republican Rep. Mary Bono Mack – and lost four of his own.  All four of the Democratic no votes were cast by members of the conservative Blue Dog Coalition: Reps. Mike Ross (D-Ark.), Jim Matheson (D-Utah), John Barrow (D-Ga.) and Charlie Melancon (D-La.).

Ross and Melancon are co-chairman of the conservative Blue Dog Coalition.  The third Blue Dog co-chairman on the Energy panel, Rep. Baron Hill (D-Ind.), voted for the bill.

A number of additional Blue Dogs – many who represent the rural areas said to be most in jeopardy of seeing their local utility rates – were watching the bill closely but with skeptical eyes.

And Waxman still faces a monumental challenge from as many as 28 Democrats on the Agriculture Committee, who have decided to stand with their chairman, Rep. Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) and vote against the bill on the floor if significant changes affecting the agriculture industry aren’t addressed.

Waxman himself admitted just before the vote on final passage that there is still much work to be done on the legislation.

“This is not the end of our work,” Waxman said. “I’ve committed to [Energy and Commerce Committee] members and the ranking member that we’ll hold further hearings on the allocation portions of the bill, other committees will consider the bill, and then we’ll move to the floor.”

Democratic leaders have set no firm timetables for having the full House consider the legislation, saying only that their goal is to have the bill ready for the floor by June or early July.

 
This aricle was updated on June 1 at 10:25 a.m.