Bless Mitch McConnell!! Climate bill stalls in Senate after dispute
The Clerk had to read every word on the 491 pages....heh!!
guardian.co.uk
• AP foreign
• , Wednesday June 4 2008
By H. JOSEF HEBERT
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - A Senate debate over a bill to combat global warming came to a halt Wednesday after Republicans demanded a reading of the 492-page document because of a partisan dispute over judicial nominations.
The partisan squabble spilled over to a disagreement over how many amendments should be allowed, threatening to cut short likely consideration of the legislation once it gets back on track.
Senate clerks read into the evening hours as both sides mapped out their next move, once the reading was to be concluded, sometime before midnight.
The bill, the most ambitious legislation on global warming ever taken up in Congress, would cut carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions by 71 percent by mid-century from power plants, refineries, factories and transportation.
Its sponsors said the mandatory reductions are essential to put the United States in a leadership role in global attempts to head off dangerous climate change. But Republican critics said it would result in higher energy costs and economic turmoil.
After an agreement to bring the legislation up for action, Republicans turned down requests that a reading of the bill not be required, a procedure that is routine.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said he directed the delaying action because the Democratic majority had failed to approve the appointment of three federal judges before Memorial Day as had been promised.
``We hate to hold up the climate bill,'' McConnell told reporters, indicating he was ready to go back to the bill, once his point had been made about the judges. He said Republicans had a number of amendments for the bill.
Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., accused the Republicans of obstruction and ``doing everything in their power to slow, stop and stall'' on urgent legislation to address global warming.
A Reid spokesman, Jim Manley, blamed Republicans for not getting two of the judicial nominations out of the Judiciary Committee and said a third judge, in fact, had been approved. Reid's pledge was based on ``Republican cooperation'' that he did not get, said Manley.
Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., a lead co-sponsor of the climate bill, said the GOP was ``just stalling this bill. ... All they want to do is kill this bill.''
The climate bill's supporters include most Democrats and a handful of Republicans. Along with Boxer, the leading sponsors are Sens. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., and John Warner, R-Va. It has been the subject of Senate floor debate since Monday, but senators have done little more than talk so far.
Reid had said he wanted the bill finished by early next week, but aides said he may now move to significantly limit amendments and bring the issue to a close as early as Friday.
If so, he would need 60 votes to overcome a GOP filibuster and move to a final vote, something senators on both sides say he is unlikely to get. If he fails, Reid would likely withdraw the bill, leaving the issue for next year with a new president and a new Congress.
Some Republicans complained Monday that Reid was maneuvering to prevent Republicans from offering their amendments and was trying to push through a huge and complex bill in a matter of days with inadequate debate.
Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., noted that when Congress took up changes in the Clean Air Act in 1990 - an equally complex piece of legislation - the Senate took five weeks before passing it.
``This legislation is far reaching. It is economy wide,'' Domenici said.
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GOP halts Senate over Bush nominee
Stephen Dinan THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
washtimes.com
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell made good on his promise of retribution against Democrats for their slow pace in confirming judicial nominees by bringing the Senate to a halt Wednesday.
He forced a clerk to read every word of the 491-page global warming bill.
The Senate requires unanimous consent to do many of the housekeeping measures, such as bringing up amendments and moving to and from bills. Mr. McConnell, Kentucky Republican, withheld his consent, forcing the stalemate.
"It is important that judicial emergencies are filled with qualified judges, and we will use the various tools at our disposal to ensure that those nominees and the Republican Conference are treated fairly, and that the Majority takes its commitments seriously," Mr. McConnell said.
A half-hour into the reading, assistant legislative clerk Kathleen Alvarez had barely finished the table of contents of the massive measure. A spokesman for Mr. McConnell said the obstruction will last all day.
Eight appellate court nominees have been approved this Congress, which Republicans say is only half the rate it should be. They also say Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada failed to meet his pledge to confirm three appellate nominees by Memorial Day.
Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick J. Leahy, Vermont Democrat, on Tuesday announced he would schedule committee votes on two appellate court nominees, but both are sought by Democrats, so Republicans say they shouldn't count as progress toward confirming Mr. Bush's choices.
Mr. Leahy said his committee has made historic efforts to fill judicial slots, and with confirmation of the two judges he's proposed vacancies on the appeals courts would be in the single digits.
"Lost in all the agitating from the other side of the aisle is the fact that we have succeeded in reducing circuit court vacancies to historically low levels," he said.
The dustup comes as the Senate was about to return to the global warming bill, and Democrats are likely to say the delay is more about Republicans' recalcitrance on the environment.
Speaking at a press conference earlier in the day, Sen. Barbara Boxer, California Democrat, said she suspected Republicans would try to obstruct the bill through any means.
"They'll have to be exposed for stopping this," she said. |
