U.S. Senate negotiations on a climate change bill have collapsed with the Republican sponsor, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, pulling out saying he will withdraw his support because Democrats appear to be more interested in passing immigration reform before taking up the energy bill, according to media reports.
Unless Graham’s partners, Massachusetts Democrat John Kerry and Connecticut independent Joseph I. Lieberman, persuade him to return to negotiations, there is little hope the issue will be revived this year.
Without legislative action, the stage is set for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to begin regulating carbon emissions under the Clean Air Act, with no input from Congress. It is rumored that one section of the climate legislation would push the EPA out of the carbon regulation business and overrules emissions limits already set in place by states, such as California and several northeastern states.
The bill’s co-author and lead supporter in the Senate, Democrat John Kerry of Massachusetts, says the bill is the last chance this year for climate legislation. He and others are working the phones to see if they can get the bill back on track.