KGL Climate Bill: Thwarted by Immigration?

In a dramatic turn of events this past weekend, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) pulled his support for the Kerry-Graham-Lieberman bill, which was scheduled to be introduced in the Senate today, after Majority Leader Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) indicated that the Senate was likely to move on immigration reform legislation before climate.  Immigration unexpectedly returned to the forefront of American politics after the state of Arizona passed the nation’s most restrictive immigration law. Senator Graham said the explosive politics of immigration will "impede, if not derail" the Kerry-Lieberman-Graham efforts that have been in the works for months. Further complicating all of this is the fact that there is not a final deal in place to move financial reform legislation forward in the Senate either, which means debate over that issue could continue to drag out in coming weeks as well. After months of building momentum toward pushing a climate bill through the Senate this summer, the derailment this weekend demonstrates again the monumental difficulty of getting the stars to align for landmark energy/climate legislation, especially during an election year.  The back-and-forth of this weekend aside, the real story is that even if Senator Graham comes back on board this week, the dicey political issues raised by this bill are unlikely to be resolved this year in order to get a bill signed by the President.

Where Does KGL Stand

In a meeting of Senate leadership last Tuesday, Senator Reid told other lawmakers he would put immigration ahead of energy on his priority list.  Reid has repeatedly said that he will push to bring a climate bill to the floor this year, but he refuses to promise that it will come ahead of an immigration package.

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