Roll Call is reporting that Representatives Waxman (D-CA) and Boucher (D-VA) have reached an agreement on several critical provisions of the American Clean Energy and Security Act. The article also confirms roughly what was expected in terms of timeline:
"We have resolved a good number of the issues," Waxman said after a meeting with committee Democrats, adding that the bill remains on track to clear his panel next week. Opening statements are planned for Thursday with a marathon markup beginning on Monday.
"I am optimistic. I believe we will have the votes to pass the bill [next week]," Waxman said.
Sadly, in order to secure the votes he needed from his own party, Representative Waxman was forced to compromise on some key provisions of the legislation.
Bottom line: As the American Clean Energy and Security Act clears its first procedural hurdle next week (the House Energy and Commerce Committee), it will have already been significantly weakened. It is simply not as strong as a) Obama's campaign promises, b) what Europe is doing or c) what scientists say is necessary to prevent catastrophic climate change.
Incredibly, even with massive majorities in both branches of Congress, Democratic Leadership is unable to pass a bill that does what is necessary. As I've mentioned previously, polluting industries continue to dominate the legislative process by bankrolling candidates who vote against environmental regulations. This problem will not go away until we fundamentally change Congress.
I'll reserve judgment on whether I think the package moving through Energy and Commerce is worth supporting until the full details of the agreement are released on Thursday. For the time being I'll just note that I'm extremely disappointed with the details that have emerged so far. President Obama needs to take steps to ensure that America's climate policy is taken seriously at the international negotiations this December in Copenhagen. If he intends to expend any political capital to make that a reality he needs to do so now, before so-called moderate Democrats from coal country succeed in making the bill ineffective.