No Date Yet for Action on Boxer’s Climate Bill
One week after Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) unveiled sweeping climate change legislation to little fanfare, the Environment and Public Works Committee that she leads is still working out a date to hold hearings and mark up the measure. “The committee is looking to schedule a hearing as soon as possible,— a Democratic committee aide said Wednesday, adding that the panel is waiting for additional information from the Environmental Protection Agency on the measure’s economic effect. The panel was expected to hold hearings on the legislation, co-authored by Foreign Relations Chairman John Kerry (D-Mass.), next week, which now appears unlikely. “We’re not anticipating any hearings that week, and subsequently, we’re not expecting any markups the following week,— said Matt Dempsey, spokesman for EPW ranking member James Inhofe (R-Okla.). The committee’s uncertain schedule is just the latest obstacle for the climate bill. Boxer and Kerry unveiled their measure one month later than they originally intended, and Members on both sides of the aisle acknowledge little time remains on the Senate calendar for any work on the issue this year. Additionally, Environment & Energy Daily reported Tuesday that Joe Goffman left his senior post on Boxer’s EPW staff for a position at EPA “as a senior counsel on climate and air pollution issues.—