Senators to Unveil Draft Climate Bill

By IAN TALLEY and STEPHEN POWER
WASHINGTON -- Top Senate Democrats plan Wednesday to unveil a draft climate bill calling for greater reductions in greenhouse-gas emissions than a House bill would require.
But the proposal is expected to defer tough decisions on other major issues, underscoring the challenges lawmakers face in seeking a consensus.
The proposal calls for cutting U.S. greenhouse-gas emissions 20% from 2005 levels by 2020, according to a copy of a draft, as well as people close to the matter.
The House bill, which passed in June, calls for cutting emissions 17% over the same period.
California Democrat Barbara Boxer, who heads the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, and Sen. John Kerry (D., Mass), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, hope the draft legislation will give new momentum to climate change, an Obama administration priority that appears to have slid down Washington's to-do list.
The House in June approved legislation that would require companies to hold permits to emit greenhouse gases. In the initial years, the government would give away most of the permits to industries, while allowing companies to trade permits among themselves. Over time, the government would issue fewer permits, bringing overall emissions down.
The Senate proposal isn't expected to specify how the government would allocate billions of dollars worth of the permits.
Associated Press
Sen. Barbara Boxer, seen in July, seeks to return the focus to climate change.
By remaining silent on that and other issues, the proposal effectively postpones for weeks many of the toughest questions associated with climate legislation, as senators wade deeper into the debate over health-care legislation.
Administration officials have said they would like to get a climate bill signed into law before an international summit on climate change in December. But Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) has said any chamber vote may wait until next year.
The Senate measure has already raised some worries. Keith McCoy, vice president of the National Association of Manufacturers, said his group was "concerned" about the direction of Ms. Boxer's proposal, but is withholding judgment.
Republicans on Tuesday warned Ms. Boxer against publishing her proposal without specifying how emissions permits would be allocated. Without such details, they said, it would be impossible to gauge the bill's economic impact.
"It is imperative that we have a complete bill well in advance of legislative hearings and markup," the seven Republican members of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee said in a letter to Ms. Boxer on Tuesday. "Otherwise the legislative process will not paint a full and accurate picture of your legislation to the American people."
Spokespersons for Ms. Boxer and Mr. Kerry didn't respond to calls seeking comment. People familiar with Ms. Boxer's thinking said she planned to flesh out details of her proposal in coming weeks, with a goal of bringing the legislation before her committee for a vote by the end of October.
Unlike the House bill, the Senate's draft bill would preserve the authority of the Environmental Protection Agency to use the Clean Air Act to regulate greenhouse gases. Because that law generally gives the EPA limited flexibility to consider costs when setting regulations, some business groups and many lawmakers fear the agency's regulation of greenhouse gases could lead to onerous, new rules on business.
In a bid to gain support from moderates within the Democratic Party and potential Republican votes, the Boxer-Kerry draft also includes provisions to fund training of workers in the nuclear industry and development of technology that could reduce greenhouse-gas emissions from coal-fired power plants.
Write to Ian Talley at ian.talley@dowjones.com and Stephen Power at stephen.power@wsj.com