House Passes Comprehensive Climate Bill
July 1st, 2009
On June 26, 2009, the House passed a landmark climate bill, the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (H.R. 2454). The measure, which was the product of months of negotiations, passed by a vote of 219-212 just as Congress was leaving for the July Fourth recess. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) pushed hard to get 211 Democrats and 8 Republicans to support onto the comprehensive global warming bill, while 44 Democrats voted to oppose the legislation.
H.R. 2454 creates a host of new programs that support greenhouse gas emissions reductions in all sectors of the U.S. economy, and includes provisions for a national cap and trade program, sector based policies and measures, economic transition, and climate change adaptation support. The cap and trade program requires a 17 percent cut in domestic emissions by 2020. Additionally, it requires utilities to acquire 15 percent of their power from qualified renewable sources of electricity by 2020.
With the passage of the House cap and trade bill, the focus will turn to efforts in the Senate. Chairwoman Barbara Boxer of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee is planning hearings and a mark up by early August. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has set a September 18 deadline for committees to finish their portion of a comprehensive package that can be matched with the House bill. Leader Reid will meet with committee chairmen—including Foreign Relations Chairman John Kerry, Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Jeff Bingaman and Agriculture Chairman Tom Harkin—to discuss the bill after the July recess.