After weeks of intense negotiations, Senate majority leader Harry Reid (D) of Nevada announced Thursday that comprehensive energy reform meant to address climate change could not be passed before the August break.
The third leg of President Obama’s domestic agenda – after health care and financial reform – energy reform is the last to come before the Senate, although in a more limited form than the game-changing overhaul the White House promised. Senator Reid said he’ll take a scaled-down version of the legislation to the floor as early as next week.
In a bid to win Republican support, Democrats will drop proposed controls on greenhouse gas emissions in favor of more limited measures that have attracted bipartisan support in the past. These include: lifting the liability cap to hold BP accountable for the Gulf oil spill, decreasing dependence on foreign oil, boosting incentives to create up to 400,000 green jobs, and expanding funding for land and water conservation.
Full story: Harry Reid: Senate will abandon cap-and-trade energy reform – Christian Science Monitor