WASHINGTON — The Senate began what is expected to be a week-long, contentious debate Monday over legislation to combat global warming by mandatory reductions in carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.
Senators voted 74-14 to proceed to the bill, but immediately it became clear Republican opponents were not going to make it easy. A request by Democrats to begin considering substantive changes in the bill was blocked by GOP opponents until Wednesday at the earliest.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada promised a thorough debate. He said it’s clear that “global warming is real” and Congress must act.
But supporters of the bill acknowledged it will be difficult — perhaps impossible — to overcome a certain GOP filibuster threat against the legislation, meaning congressional action on global warming will probably be decided in the next Congress and by the next president.
The Senate measure, which has wide Democratic and some Republican support, would cap U.S. emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, cutting them by 18 percent by 2020 and by two-thirds by midcentury. It would specifically target refineries, power plants, factories and transportation for 70 percent reductions and make emissions allowances available to be traded in an open market.
Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky called it “a giant tax on virtually every aspect of the economy” and accused Democrats of being “laughably out of touch” in taking up the bill when the country is reeling from $4-a-gallon gasoline and other high energy costs.
President Bush said at a White House event that the measure “would impose roughly $6 trillion in new costs on the American economy.”
For Colorado, the legislation could offer some benefits, according to an Environmental Defense Fund white paper.
The state already is emerging as a center for renewable-energy research and development, the study said. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory is in Golden, and a wind-blade plant is being built in Windsor.
Colorado’s farmers may also benefit as the legislation promotes using plants to soak up carbon.
Denver Post staff writer Mark Jaffe contributed to this report.
