As if Senator Baucus didn’t have enough on his plate already? Baucus, who is Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, is at the forefront of the healthcare debate sweeping the nation, but another legislative deadline looms and it brings with it a potential committee power struggle over jurisdiction of one of this bill’s “critical” sections.Darren Samuelson’s article for ClimateWire on the New York Times website is an intriguing story of a potential power struggle between two powerful senators over who gets to be lead author of the climate change bill’s section that deals with the distribution of potentially billions of dollars in emission allowances for various industries. Accordingly, this section of the bill also comes with plenty of stakeholders. Samuelson reports the following groups have a key interest in how this portion of the bill plays out:
Whoever writes the allocations faces a number of big decisions, not to mention
demands from power plant CEOs, hunters and fishers, renewable energy companies
and foreign aid workers, among others, over where the allocations should be
directed.
Currently, both Senator Baucus’s Finance Committee and Senator Boxer’s Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee have sought jurisdiction on the section. In an interesting caveat, Senator Baucus is also the most senior Democratic member of Boxer’s EPW Committee, having formerly served as the committee’s chair.
Senator Reid, who apparently will serve as tie-breaker over any disputes the chairs have over the direction and language of the section, would like to see all differences resolved before the legislation starts moving. He has set a Sept.28, 2009 deadline for the Senate to start dealing with global warming legislation.
In the meantime Senator Baucus has his hands full with the healthcare reform legislation that is dominating the news cycles these days. As Samuelson writes, success in the healthcare arena could improve Baucus’s standing as far as getting allocation jurisdiction. One major success at bipartisan legislation would be a strong bargaining chip. Additionally, Baucus’s centrist voice “carries tremendous weight in the leadership ranks.” Regardless, Boxer's committee is set to move ahead with hearings in September and a potential mark-up one week before Majority Leader Reid's deadline.
One can be sure that the stakeholders will be voicing their opinions to the Congress over who should control this section and what, exactly, the section should look like. Looks like a busy early Fall for Senator Baucus, and Senator Boxer. To read Samuelson’s article click here.
Senator Reid, who apparently will serve as tie-breaker over any disputes the chairs have over the direction and language of the section, would like to see all differences resolved before the legislation starts moving. He has set a Sept.28, 2009 deadline for the Senate to start dealing with global warming legislation.
In the meantime Senator Baucus has his hands full with the healthcare reform legislation that is dominating the news cycles these days. As Samuelson writes, success in the healthcare arena could improve Baucus’s standing as far as getting allocation jurisdiction. One major success at bipartisan legislation would be a strong bargaining chip. Additionally, Baucus’s centrist voice “carries tremendous weight in the leadership ranks.” Regardless, Boxer's committee is set to move ahead with hearings in September and a potential mark-up one week before Majority Leader Reid's deadline.
One can be sure that the stakeholders will be voicing their opinions to the Congress over who should control this section and what, exactly, the section should look like. Looks like a busy early Fall for Senator Baucus, and Senator Boxer. To read Samuelson’s article click here.
Posted: 08/07/09
