Tennessee Senator Lamar Alexander will weigh-in today on a far-reaching bill that sets its sights on reducing greenhouse emissions by 2-percent each year starting in 2012. The Senate’s Environment and Public Works committee will take up the Climate Security Act of 2007, co-sponsored by Republican John Warner and Independent Joe Lieberman.
Alexander hasn’t gone as far as to say he’d vote against the Warner-Lieberman bill but says his approach to lowering greenhouse gases is on a sector-by-sector basis. This legislation reaches into nearly every energy-related industry from utilities to automobiles.
“I think we would be better off, instead of having a more complicated Warner-Lieberman bill, I think we should simply put caps on coal-fired utilities and pass fuel efficiency standards for cars and trucks.”
Alexander, a Republican, is one of a small group on the Environment committee that hasn’t come down for or against the Warner-Lieberman bill.
Not surprisingly, environmental groups have lined up behind it as a best chance to get something past the Congress. Lining up in opposition is the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, among others.
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