Obama, Key Senators Make Their Pitch for Climate and Energy Bill
March 10, 2010
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March 10, 2010
Closed-door talks extended to both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue yesterday as President Obama, key senators and industry officials searched for an elusive agreement on comprehensive energy and climate change legislation.
At the White House, Obama implored 14 Democrats and Republicans to reach consensus before the end of this year on a bill that puts a first-ever price on carbon emissions, rather than settle for the energy-only approach favored by some moderates.
Back on Capitol Hill, the three senators at the center of the legislative effort presented their broad ideas to some of the country's largest trade associations, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, American Petroleum Institute and the American Farm Bureau.
The rush of activity underscored the last-ditch push to produce a draft Senate bill before the spring recess that begins March 26.
"We're on a very short fuse," said Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), a lead author of the bill with Sens. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), while talking with reporters on the White House driveway. "We're moving very rapidly. ... We're now down to dealing with specific language and negotiating with various interested parties."
Those talks occupied 70 minutes of Obama's time as eight Democrats and six Republicans went around the Cabinet Room describing their demands. Obama opened the meeting by insisting the Senate stick to his plan to cap greenhouse gas emissions, and in return pledged to make concessions on oil and gas drilling and nuclear power.
Afterward, several of the people in the room said the open-mic opportunity afforded everyone a chance to see how far apart they were -- and also how close.
"When you sit around the table in the kind of civil discussion we had, you realize we had a lot in common," Lieberman said. "I think if this group continues to work together, we can get something done on this, this year."
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