WASHINGTON — A Senate bill to cut greenhouse gases and address global warming is heading toward almost certain defeat after nearly a week of partisan bickering. Each side accuses the other of obstruction, trickery and political games.
As a result, it will be up to the next Congress and President Bush’s successor to deal with this important environmental issue. Both presidential candidates, Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain, have promised to pursue mandatory pollution reductions to reduce the risk of climate change.
Supporters have concluded there is virtually no chance for the 60 votes needed to break a Republican filibuster, senators said.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., has set a vote today to try to overcome the filibuster on the 492-page bill. He has pledged to pull the bill if it does not meet the 60-vote threshold.
The measure would require power plants, refineries and factories to reduce their carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases by about 19 percent by 2020 and by 71 percent by midcentury. Along with capping emissions, it would establish a pollution allowance trading system to ease the transition from fossil fuel use and help people pay energy bills.
The legislation has been in trouble from the start.
The GOP filibuster prevented Democrats from moving quickly to consider amendments. On Wednesday, the Republican leader, Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, required that all 492 pages be read into the record — an almost unheard of move that took 8 1/2 hours, ending at 9:45 p.m.
“We’re going to do everything we can,” Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., said Thursday. But her tone was one of resignation.
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