Kerry Offers Nuclear Promotion to Draw Republican Support on Climate Bill
Sept. 30, 2009 - 8:56 p.m.
By Coral Davenport, CQ Staff
In a bid to lure a handful of crucial Republican votes, the Senate sponsor of climate change legislation says he is open to negotiate language that would promote development of new nuclear power plants.
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"If we are willing to show significant movement on nuclear, I believe we can gain some Republican supporters," Senate Foreign Relations Chairman John Kerry, D-Mass., told reporters Wednesday after unveiling legislation to curb emissions of greenhouse gases.
But several of Kerry's targets - Republicans who have previously expressed concern about global warming and support for expanding nuclear power - quickly threw cold water on the idea.
Even with provisions promoting nuclear power, Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., said he cannot support the bill's "cap and trade" plan, which would limit emissions of greenhouse gases and distribute tradable allowances to polluters.
"I think it would be a terrific idea to have a nuclear title, but not attached to cap and trade," said Alexander. "I think the idea of an economywide cap and trade is bizarre. I think we need to curb carbon emissions, but I'm in a completely different direction [from Kerry]. He needs to reach out and forget economywide cap and trade."
Kerry and Senate Environment and Public Works Chairwoman Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., released details Wednesday of a broad proposal expected to be the main Senate vehicle for President Obama's clean energy and climate agenda.
The announcement came as the EPA announced a proposal to limit greenhouse gas emission from large sources, such as power plants and refineries, under the Clean Air Act. The proposal is the latest warning from the Obama administration that if Congress does not enact legislation to curb carbon emissions, the executive branch will impose regulations on its own.
The Senate bill is modeled on the House-passed cap-and-trade bill (HR 2454), but is full of blanks and placeholders on several key issues, with the aim of creating space to negotiate toward getting 60 Senate votes.
Overall, the bill would cap carbon emissions at 80 percent below 2005 levels by 2050 and create a market for buying and selling pollution credits. The cap-and-trade approach worries several moderate Democrats and has been slammed by many leading Republicans.
Some moderate Democrats, such as Nebraska's Ben Nelson, have already made it clear that they intend to vote against the measure. Others, such as Mary L. Landrieu of Louisiana andBlanche Lincoln of Arkansas, have voiced strong reservations.
Republicans Targeted
Kerry appears to be courting a small group of leading moderate Republicans who have shown willingness to sign on to global warming legislation.
They include John McCain of Arizona, who joined then-Democrat Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut in 2003 in introducing the Senate's first comprehensive bill to combat climate change.
Another target is Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who has called her state the "ground zero of global warming" and in 2007 cosponsored a bipartisan cap-and-trade bill with Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M.
Alexander, who chairs the Senate GOP Conference, has talked about the need to limit greenhouse gas emissions and has introduced legislation in previous years to cap emissions from electric utilities.
All three Republicans are strong advocates of nuclear energy and have made it clear that any energy and climate bill should include an expansion of nuclear power, the only major energy source that does not emit greenhouse gases. Alexander has called for construction of 100 new nuclear facilities in the next 20 years.
As written, the nuclear provisions in Kerry's bill are modest. It would streamline the permitting process for utilities seeking to build new nuclear power plants and would provide funding to train workers and research new radioactive waste storage technology.
But the Republicans said they have problems with Kerry's plan even if his bill expands support for nuclear power.
McCain said that he has spoken to Kerry about the bill and cannot support it as it now stands.
"It needs more nuclear, real nuclear," McCain said. "But it has a lot of other problems. It has no specific allocations [for pollution permits], which made the House bill such a debacle."
A spokesman for Murkowski said she would probably need to see far more concessions than just an expansion of nuclear power. "They don't talk to Republicans about anything else, and now they're going to give them nuclear?" said spokesman Robert Dillon. "It's not enough."
The nuclear power lobby is also lukewarm about the Kerry bill.
While any measure curbing carbon emissions is likely to lead to increased demand for nuclear-generated electricity, industry leaders say they want to see stronger incentives in the bill, including tax incentives, loan guarantees, and increased funding for research and development into nuclear waste storage and reprocessing.
By Coral Davenport, CQ Staff
In a bid to lure a handful of crucial Republican votes, the Senate sponsor of climate change legislation says he is open to negotiate language that would promote development of new nuclear power plants.
Bottom of Form
"If we are willing to show significant movement on nuclear, I believe we can gain some Republican supporters," Senate Foreign Relations Chairman John Kerry, D-Mass., told reporters Wednesday after unveiling legislation to curb emissions of greenhouse gases.
But several of Kerry's targets - Republicans who have previously expressed concern about global warming and support for expanding nuclear power - quickly threw cold water on the idea.
Even with provisions promoting nuclear power, Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., said he cannot support the bill's "cap and trade" plan, which would limit emissions of greenhouse gases and distribute tradable allowances to polluters.
"I think it would be a terrific idea to have a nuclear title, but not attached to cap and trade," said Alexander. "I think the idea of an economywide cap and trade is bizarre. I think we need to curb carbon emissions, but I'm in a completely different direction [from Kerry]. He needs to reach out and forget economywide cap and trade."
Kerry and Senate Environment and Public Works Chairwoman Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., released details Wednesday of a broad proposal expected to be the main Senate vehicle for President Obama's clean energy and climate agenda.
The announcement came as the EPA announced a proposal to limit greenhouse gas emission from large sources, such as power plants and refineries, under the Clean Air Act. The proposal is the latest warning from the Obama administration that if Congress does not enact legislation to curb carbon emissions, the executive branch will impose regulations on its own.
The Senate bill is modeled on the House-passed cap-and-trade bill (HR 2454), but is full of blanks and placeholders on several key issues, with the aim of creating space to negotiate toward getting 60 Senate votes.
Overall, the bill would cap carbon emissions at 80 percent below 2005 levels by 2050 and create a market for buying and selling pollution credits. The cap-and-trade approach worries several moderate Democrats and has been slammed by many leading Republicans.
Some moderate Democrats, such as Nebraska's Ben Nelson, have already made it clear that they intend to vote against the measure. Others, such as Mary L. Landrieu of Louisiana andBlanche Lincoln of Arkansas, have voiced strong reservations.
Republicans Targeted
Kerry appears to be courting a small group of leading moderate Republicans who have shown willingness to sign on to global warming legislation.
They include John McCain of Arizona, who joined then-Democrat Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut in 2003 in introducing the Senate's first comprehensive bill to combat climate change.
Another target is Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who has called her state the "ground zero of global warming" and in 2007 cosponsored a bipartisan cap-and-trade bill with Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M.
Alexander, who chairs the Senate GOP Conference, has talked about the need to limit greenhouse gas emissions and has introduced legislation in previous years to cap emissions from electric utilities.
All three Republicans are strong advocates of nuclear energy and have made it clear that any energy and climate bill should include an expansion of nuclear power, the only major energy source that does not emit greenhouse gases. Alexander has called for construction of 100 new nuclear facilities in the next 20 years.
As written, the nuclear provisions in Kerry's bill are modest. It would streamline the permitting process for utilities seeking to build new nuclear power plants and would provide funding to train workers and research new radioactive waste storage technology.
But the Republicans said they have problems with Kerry's plan even if his bill expands support for nuclear power.
McCain said that he has spoken to Kerry about the bill and cannot support it as it now stands.
"It needs more nuclear, real nuclear," McCain said. "But it has a lot of other problems. It has no specific allocations [for pollution permits], which made the House bill such a debacle."
A spokesman for Murkowski said she would probably need to see far more concessions than just an expansion of nuclear power. "They don't talk to Republicans about anything else, and now they're going to give them nuclear?" said spokesman Robert Dillon. "It's not enough."
The nuclear power lobby is also lukewarm about the Kerry bill.
While any measure curbing carbon emissions is likely to lead to increased demand for nuclear-generated electricity, industry leaders say they want to see stronger incentives in the bill, including tax incentives, loan guarantees, and increased funding for research and development into nuclear waste storage and reprocessing.