From the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, Mike Tidwell, director
Compiled and edited by Ted Glick, CCAN Policy Director
May 17, 2010

The Chesapeake Climate Action Network has launched a weekly policy update about efforts to advance “cap and dividend” legislation in the U.S. Congress. The fight for this climate policy is currently being led on Capitol Hill by Senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Susan Collins (R-ME), S. 2877. Last December these Senators introduced the Carbon Limits and Energy for America’s Renewal Act, or CLEAR Act. Learn more at http://www.supportclearact.org.

Week of May 10-16: Many thousands, possibly tens of thousands, of barrels of oil a day continue to spill into the gulf, and Senators John Kerry and Joe Lieberman introduced the American Power Act that they have been working on with Lindsay Graham for many months. Senators Collins and Cantwell responded with their first thoughts about the APA. On the same day that Senators Kerry and Lieberman released their bill, the AARP sent a letter to Senator Max Baucus, chair of the Senate Finance Committee, urging him to hold a hearing on the CLEAR Act and making clear their continued support of it. In a Maine newspaper, the president and CEO of Clean Air-Cool Planet praised Senator Collins for her courage and leadership in co-sponsoring the CLEAR Act. In the Washington Post on Sunday Clean Air Watch President Frank O’Donnell calls the Kerry-Lieberman efforts “a bust” and praises the CLEAR Act. And a listing is provided of all of the over 90 organizations that have come out publicly in support of the CLEAR Act.

In This Issue:

1. Climate Wire: Now launched, the climate bill faces period of hard work
2. Senator Collins responds to K-L bill, emphasizes need for bipartisanship and consumer protection
3. AARP calls upon Senator Baucus to hold hearing on the CLEAR Act
4. Clean Air-Cool Planet leader praises Senator Collins
5. Frank O’Donnell in Washington Post: Kerry-Lieberman strategy is “a bust”
6. Close to 100 organizations have publicly supported the CLEAR Act

#1  Climate Wire: Now launched, the climate bill faces period of hard work

In an article published May 13th on Climate Wire, Senator Maria Cantwell is quoted, very briefly, about her reaction to the Kerry-Lieberman American Power Act: “Also in flux are two senators who have offered a competing climate plan. Sens. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Collins (R-Me.) introduced the ‘CLEAR Act,’ which limits carbon markets to regulated facilities, in part because of the distrust of Wall Street banks after the economic plunge. Kerry and Lieberman have a different plan. They would permit a secondary market in which unregulated traders could buy and sell carbon allowances. But they may be seeking a compromise with Cantwell and Collins by requiring firms, like utilities or banks, to provide upfront cash in all purchases — rather than use derivatives. Cantwell, when asked by a reporter yesterday if it seemed like Kerry and Lieberman were bending to her concerns, said, ‘I doubt it.’”

For the full article go to: http://www.nytimes.com/cwire/2010/05/13/13climatewire-now-launched-the-climate-bill-faces-period-o-17963.html

#2  Senator Collins responds to K-L bill, emphasizes need for bipartisanship and consumer protection

In an article published on E&E News on May 12^th, Senator Susan Collins is quoted saying that the CLEAR Act is better for consumers: “Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said she supports a price on carbon emissions but took the release of the Kerry-Lieberman bill as an opportunity to plug her own bill. ‘To achieve success in the Senate, clean energy legislation must be bipartisan,’ Collins said. ‘I continue to believe the ‘CLEAR Act,’ which Senator Cantwell and I introduced in December, is the clean energy policy our nation should pursue. It positions the U.S. to be a leader in renewable energy and energy conservation technologies by placing a predictable, straightforward price on carbon.’

“The Cantwell-Collins bill, she added, ‘better protects consumers’ with a rebate of 75 percent of the revenues going directly to the American public and by preventing speculation in the carbon market. On both of
those points, Kerry in recent days has said his bill does even more to address those issues.

For the full article go to:  http://www.chesapeakeclimate.org/detail/news.cfm?news_id=1255

#3  AARP calls upon Senator Baucus to hold hearing on the CLEAR Act

In a letter sent May 12^th to Senator Max Baucus (D-Mt.), chair of the Senate Finance Committee, the national AARP urged him to hold a hearing on the CLEAR Act. Signed by David P. Sloane, Senior Vice President for Government Relations and Advocacy, the letter said, in part, “AARP’s primary interest in climate change legislation is protecting consumers from having to pay a disproportionate or excessive share of the cost of any approach Congress determines. . . AARP believes the CLEAR Act presents the best policy construct for reducing carbon emissions from the standpoint of consumers.”

For the full letter go to:  http://www.chesapeakeclimate.org/doc/Baucusclimate051210.pdf

#4  Clean Air-Cool Planet leader praises Senator Susan Collins

In an article in the Maine Compass, the president and CEO of Clean Air-Cool Planet praises the leadership Senator Susan Collins has shown in co-sponsoring the CLEAR Act: “Maine’s Susan Collins is showing strong leadership in the US Senate. Leading — not following political lines, bucking the tide of special interests, doing what’s right for her constituents as a matter of conscience — takes courage, understanding and patience.

“In true bipartisan spirit, Collins and Sen. Maria Cantwell, a Democrat from Washington State, are co-sponsoring legislation that would lead to significant reductions in carbon emissions while protecting businesses and consumers. Collins’ stance on climate issues in Congress shows exactly that.”

For the full article to go: http://www.onlinesentinel.com/opinion/MAINE-COMPASS-Collins-takes-up-fight-against-carbon-emissions.html

#5  Frank O’Donnell in Washington Post: Kerry-Lieberman strategy is “a bust”

Frank O’Donnell, President of Clean Air Watch, is quoted in the May 16 Washington Post as one of several “environmental and policy experts” commenting on the chances for the Kerry-Lieberman bill: “They spent months on an inside-the-Beltway strategy: offering special deals to appease powerful special-interest lobbies — oil, coal, power, agriculture, etc. — in hopes that those lobbies would persuade Republicans to sign up. So far that strategy is a bust. Fortunately, the powerful seniors’ lobby AARP has reminded us there is a more consumer-friendly alternative: legislation introduced by Sens. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine). It would require polluters to pay for the right to pollute and return most of the money to the public.”

For the full article go to: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/14/AR2010051404235.
html

#6  Close to 100 organizations have publicly supported the CLEAR Act

As the introduction of the Kerry-Lieberman “American Power Act” refocuses national attention on climate legislation in the U.S. Senate, the number of organizations coming out publicly in support of the CLEAR Act as a better alternative continues to grow. Our best count of the total number is 93.

There are 51 signers so far of a statement circulated by CCAN and a number of other groups around the country:

350.org, Alaska Marine Conservation Council, Association of World Citizens, Chesapeake Climate Action Network, Md/D.C./Va., Citizens for Pennsylvania’s Future (PennFuture), Clean Air Watch, Climate Change is Elementary, Climate Protection Campaign, California, Consortium for Worker Education, N.Y., N.Y., Dakota Resource Council, Earth Charter Lifeboat Academy of Pennsylvania, Fresh Energy, Minnesota, Friends Committee on National Legislation (Quakers), Global Warming Education Network, Massachusetts, Grassroots Coalition for Environmental and Economic Justice, central Pa., Idaho Conservation League, Institute for Local Self-Reliance, International Rivers, Kinnelon (NJ) Conserves, Kyoto USA, Las Vegas, NM City Council, Lexington, Ma. Global Warming Action Coalition, Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns, Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, Justice Peace/Integrity of Creation Office, Montana Environmental Information Center, National Community Action Foundation, New Energy Economy, New Mexico, New Mexico Green Chamber of Commerce, New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG), New York Interfaith Power and Light, North Carolina Conservation Network, Ohio Citizen Action, The Order of the Earth, central Pa., Organic Consumers Association, Our Next Economy LLC, Plains Justice (ND/SD/Mt/Ne/Ia/Wy), Pax Christi, USA, Polytrade International Corp., Post Carbon Institute, Public Citizen, Quaker Earthcare Witness, Santa Rosa City Council, California, Sebastopol City Council, California, Sonoma City Council, California, The Shalom Center, Social Justice Committee, First Unitarian Church of Lynchburg, Va., Sustainable Design, The Stella Group, Ltd., Tomales Bay Institute, Valley Watch, Inc., Evansville, In., Western Organization of Resource Councils

There are 42 signers of a religious groups’ statement circulated by the Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns:

The Affording Hope Project, ALEPH: Alliance for Jewish Renewal, Center of Concern , Collaborative Center for Justice, Inc., Columban Center for Advocacy and Outreach, Community Action for Justice in the Americas,  Africa, Asia (CAJA), Congregation of St. Joseph Justice Team, Dominican Sisters, Grand Rapids, Fargo Presentation Sisters’ Peace and Justice Center, Friends Committee on National Legislation, Holy Cross International Justice Office, Holy Spirit Missionary Sisters, JPIC – USA, Institute Justice Team, Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, Jubilee Montana Network, Leadership Conference of Women Religious, Loretto Community, Loretto Earth Network, Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns, Medical Mission Sisters, North America Sector, Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, Justice Peace/Integrity of Creation Office, National Catholic Rural Life Conference, PLANT (Partners for the Land and Agricultural Needs of Traditional Peoples), Presentation Peace & Justice Center – Fargo, ND, The Racine Dominicans Leadership Team, School Sisters of Notre Dame Shalom North America Coordinating Committee, School Sisters of St Francis, Milwaukee, Wisconsin — U.S. Leadership Team, The Shalom Center, Sisters of Charity of Nazareth Congregational Leadership, Sisters of Charity of Nazareth, Western Province, Sisters of Mercy of the Americas Institute Justice Team, Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur Justice and Peace Network, Sisters of Providence of Holyoke, MA, Sisters of St. Francis of Dubuque, Iowa, leadership team, The Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia Advocacy for Justice and Peace Committee, Sisters of St. Francis of Savannah, MO, Sisters of St. Francis, Rochester, Minnesota, Sisters of St. Joseph of Springfield MA, Sisters of the Divine Compassion, Sisters of the Holy Cross – Congregation Justice Committee Notre Dame, IN, Sisters of the Most Precious Blood of O’Fallon, MO Leadership Team, Sisters of the Presentation, Dubuque Leadership Team, SISTERS ONLINE, Unitarian Universalist United Nations Office – UUUNO

In addition, the following organizations have publicly indicated in some way their support for the CLEAR Act: AARP, Clean Air-Cool Planet, The Nation Magazine.

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CCAN encourages readers of the Cap and Dividend Policy Update to distribute it to others who might be interested. We welcome input on the contents of this publication and ideas for what could be included. Send to Ted Glick at ted@chesapeakeclimate.org. To find out more about CCAN go to http://www.chesapeakeclimate.org.