Sen. Brown Won’t Filibuster Climate Bill

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Great news on Senate prospects for comprehensive climate and clean energy legislation:

Despite opposing cloture on a previous cap and trade bill, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) says that–whether he supports the underlying bill or not–he won’t support a filibuster of climate change legislation this Congress.

“I’m not going to be part of a filibuster on climate change,” Brown told me today. Brown voted against ending debate on the Lieberman-Warner bill in 2007, but he says he did that because the bill had no real chance of making it to the floor, and opposing cloture was his way of expressing his objection to aspects of that legislation.

Sen. Brown’s stand sends a strong message to other senators from states that are currently coal dependent, like Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV), Sen. George Voinovich (R-OH) and Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA). When even companies like Duke Energy and American Electric Power are getting behind the American Clean Energy and Security Act, arguments against action hold less water than ever. It’s time for the Senate to lead.

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Published: July 12, 2009