Lindsey Graham Pulls Support Of The Climate Bill And also the Introduction Was Delayed

This morning, a coalition of Democratic senators, Republican Lindsey Graham, business leaders, religious leaders and military officials were scheduled to debut their "grand compromise" climate bill. However, this weekend dueling press releases and political positioning led Lindsey Graham to pull his support for the climate bill. The climate bill has been within the Senate for months and was set to ask government and companies to take payday cash advances to promote green technology and improve their environmental impact The bill is not entirely dead, and Lindsey Graham may nevertheless return to the list of sponsors.

Lindsey Graham pulls climate bill support

When the compromise bill was begun by senate leaders, Lindsey Graham was one of the few Republicans that showed a willingness to negotiate. Joseph Lieberman, Lindsey Graham, and John Kerry were crafting the legislation to address climate change and energy policy with the US. One of the stated Obama administration priorities is the comprehensive climate bill. Without Lindsey Graham's support, the climate bill is in question, though the White House has said it will still "work to secure bipartisan agreement."

Climate bill concerns immigration reform

Lindsey Graham didn’t pull support for the climate bill because of anything in the legislation. Instead, Graham calls out the White House and Democratic leaders for their insistence on an immigration reform bill in his statement removing his support for the climate bill. An immigration reform bill has been on the docket to be discussed for a long while, though the White House and Democrats have pushed for forward motion on the issue much faster. Lindsey Graham has stated that this "bait-and-switch" of issues is similar to instant payday loans no faxing - taking an issue now at the possible cost of one more later. Graham believes that highly-charged Senate debate on illegal immigration would make it very difficult, if not extremely hard, to discuss and pass a climate bill.

Lindsey Graham's work on climate and immigration

Lindsey Graham has been under significant pressure from Republican leaders to not work with Democratic senators on crafting a climate bill. Graham has been the only bride within the divided Senate, providing bipartisan support for contentious legislation. However, Graham has stated that by including immigration and climate within the same Senate session, leaders will not be able to make progress on both issues. In a statement where he removed his support, he explained by saying:

“But I will not allow him to play one issue off of another, and neither will the American people. They expect us to do both, and they willnot accept the notion that trying to act on one is an excuse for not acting on the other.”

So what do you think about this?

Is it possible for the Senate to address immigration and climate in the very same session?

Resources

New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/25/us/politics/25graham.html?hp

Guardian

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/michaeltomasky/2010/apr/26/congr...