Tulsa World: Inhofe, allies bottle up climate bill

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Inhofe, allies bottle up climate bill
The Republicans want an analysis of the measure's effects before they will agree to a vote.

SORRY, PAL
U.S. Sens. Jim Inhofe and Barbara Boxer: The political opponents are longtime friends, but neither is willing to bend in their dispute over the climate change bill.

By JIM MYERS World Washington Bureau
Published: 11/5/2009 2:31 AM
Last Modified: 11/5/2009 4:15 AM

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., continued to lead a Republican boycott of a Senate climate change bill Wednesday as other senators announced a "dual track'' effort that they hope could draw the votes needed for passage.

One of those senators, Lindsey Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, also signed a letter backing a request for more information that led to the GOP boycott.

"We cannot support legislation without this information,'' stated the letter signed by Graham and three other Republican senators. "Climate change legislation will likely impact every aspect of our economy.''

Graham said the two positions are consistent, adding that he is standing up for his Republican colleagues with the letter but also working on a process to address pollution, create jobs and make the U.S. energy independent.

Inhofe, the ranking member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, said he believes that the "dual track'' option demonstrates how much supporters of the climate change bill before the panel are losing.

"They are in a very awkward situation,'' he said.

It is unclear how that situation will play out.

Sen. Barbara Boxer, the committee's chairwoman, has scheduled another session Thursday.

Inhofe and Boxer, D-Calif., actually held hands earlier Wednesday while talking about their long friendship, but even that unusual gesture did not get them past a two-day impasse on the bill.

"Let the record show we are holding hands,'' Boxer said as she continued to appeal to Inhofe and his fellow Republicans to end their boycott.

Inhofe echoed her comments about their friendship but made it clear that Republicans will be ready to act on the measure only after a complete analysis of it has been conducted.

Republicans believe that the Environmental Protection Agency has agreed to do such an analysis, which would take weeks.

Inhofe also warned that any attempt to move the bill without Republican participation would jeopardize the committee's future work on other important issues such as transportation.

At issue for now is whether Boxer has the authority under the rules to act on or move the bill without at least two Republicans present.

After his opening remarks, Inhofe, the only Republican at Wednesday's session, left the room, and Boxer said Democrats would continue with their remarks and then hear a briefing on the bill.

The bill by Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., is designed to transform the U.S. economy toward clean energy, reduce pollution and allow the country to take the lead on global warming issues.

Inhofe, perhaps the most vocal skeptic in Congress of global warming and the role that humans play in it, emphasizes the economic impact that such a transformation would have on Americans.

Citing the boycott, the National Wildlife Federation pointed to the "perfect score'' that Inhofe received from the oil industry's top trade association.

The federation said in a news release that according to the Center for Responsive Politics, Inhofe and his leadership PAC have received $2.1 million from the oil and gas industry since 1998.

The senior vice president of the federation, Jeremy Symons, said: "Sen. Inhofe has taken his team off the field before the real action has even started. Behind the scenes, you can be sure Big Oil is giving Sen. Inhofe a standing ovation.''

In response, a spokesman for Inhofe said Senate Republicans feel that it is imperative that they have an economic analysis of just how costly the Kerry-Boxer bill would be before they are asked to vote on it in committee.

He said the request for analysis is now backed up by all six Republican ranking members of committees that have jurisdiction over climate legislation, and that the request has drawn support from others, as well.

Through his leadership position on the Environment and Public Works Committee, Inhofe has long led the opposition to costly cap-and-trade legislation that analysis shows would hit Oklahoma consumers particularly hard, the spokesman said.

Finally, he said, attacks against Inhofe by liberal special interest groups in Washington are hardly new.

However, Oklahomans know that Inhofe has long been a champion for the state's energy needs, he said.

Jim Myers (202) 484-1424
jim.myers@tulsaworld.com By JIM MYERS World Washington Bureau

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Some reader comments for this story were copied from "Inhofe, Boxer hold hands but impasse continues," which was published on 11/4/2009.

	Report Comment fredsdad, Tulsa, OK (11/4/2009 10:48:56 AM) Congratulations, Senator. Keep up the good fight.
	Report Comment Guillermo, (11/4/2009 10:53:09 AM) Jim it is time to go sit on the front porch and watch the cars go by.
	Report Comment Faith, (11/4/2009 10:53:48 AM) He is embarrassment to our state. He gets too much money from the very polluters who are against this.
	Report Comment No Right Wing Nut Jobs, (11/4/2009 10:54:17 AM) Good fight? Against who? the evil dems or the melting polar caps? Senator Pyscho gets paid too much by oil and is afraid cars will need to start running on something else. Lobbist paid impasse
	Report Comment SS_Hippy, Tulsa (11/4/2009 10:54:25 AM) Wash your hands Barbara
	Report Comment Tulsa Kayaker, Tulsa (11/4/2009 10:57:10 AM) haha SS, I wouldn't want to catch stupidity either.
	Report Comment psychedelikrelik, Tulsa (11/4/2009 10:57:19 AM) Watch out Barb, he's goin' for second base! Creepy.
	Report Comment my view, Sand Springs (11/4/2009 10:58:19 AM) Inhofe and fellow Republicans boycotting will save the country from higher taxes. Keep up the fight Jim.
	Report Comment Faith, (11/4/2009 10:58:50 AM) No matter which party is in jobs aren't coming back. People are sick of politics from both sides and the Republican Administration in Power in Oklahoma hasn't created any new jobs in OK. Right to Work has even made it worse.
	Report Comment Lance-a-lot, Tulsa (11/4/2009 11:04:48 AM) All he is saying, is give transparency a chance. After all, Obama trumpeted how he would be transparent his entire campaing. And Pelosi made the pledge of "the most open, honest, and ethical" congress ever after the D's took control of Congress. (Right Charlie Rangel?)
	Report Comment Corvetteguy, Tulsa (11/4/2009 11:10:07 AM) California citizens, When are you going to throw Senator Boxer out of office? She isn't going to just go away. Do something not only for the great state of California, do something for your counrty...THROW SENATOR BOXER OUT...
	Report Comment gadfly, Broken Arrow (11/4/2009 11:15:23 AM) Even if Senator Inhofe is correct (in regard to "Global Warming") and therefore 99% of the world's leading scientific experts were incorrect (in regard to "Global Warming") would not it be in the United States's best interests to try to reduce greenhouse gases as much as possible anyway? After all, we are losing young American lives in Iraq and Afghanistan -- over oil; over our addiction to foreign oil. And, World War III could easily be fought over this oil addiction. Inhofe's primary reason (only?) for opposing "Global Warming coping strategies" is to protect Oklahoma's energy companies -- and that's understandable. But the role of the Oklahoma voter -- who elects someone such as Inhofe -- is to vote for what is in all of our collective interests, not just the best interests of the oil and gas companies. Inhofe has no training or experience in the energy field and has never formally studied or otherwise researched how man's depencence on oil is impacting our environment. As long as the United States continues to be ruled by big oil -- there is no hope that "Global Warming" can be ameliorated. Fortunately for me (and, unfortunately, Inhofe) by the time that "Global Warming" will begin to have its most disasterous consequences, I will be dead. Not so, unfortunately, for my children and grandchildren. I'm not a Chrsitian, but I care what kind of a world I will be leaving to future generations. Can the same thing be said about the good Chrsitians who keep electing, and re-electing Senator Inhofe?
	Report Comment pdillo, Tulsa (11/4/2009 11:16:00 AM) clean air and clean energy is expensive - f* the enviorment, save my tax dollars!
	Report Comment pdillo, Tulsa (11/4/2009 11:17:53 AM) Corvetteguy, ditto - except find and replace "california" with "oklahoma" and "boxer" with "inhofe". while your at it, throw your corvette out and get a prius
	Report Comment Que, Terlton (11/4/2009 11:32:23 AM) Senator Inhofe's own hearing in 2006 refutes his claim that" Global Warming is a hoax.". Although two of the four scientists who testified are climate skeptics, all four of scientists said the Earth had warmed. Clearly, global warming is not a hoax, and Inhofe's own hearing proved it. He needs to give up his boycott and cooperate in doing something about it.
	Report Comment flyingtheo, Broken Arrow (11/4/2009 11:38:51 AM) Senator Jim, you are showing a lot of class sticking to your(our)guns for Oklahoma, even if you do have to hold hands with one of the biggest loonies from California. Hopefully, she will be defeated next year by the former CEO of HP.
	Report Comment paprika, teahas (11/4/2009 11:48:28 AM) Tulsa Kayaker, The EPA is worthless? I thought they were in charge of making sure companies aren't polluting? Isn't the EPA in charge of doing all the things that you say Inhofe is trying to block. I wonder who the worthless idiot is here?
	Report Comment paprika, teahas (11/4/2009 11:52:08 AM) Senator, Do not let the idiotic Dems destroy manufacturing and all the jobs that go with it. Stick by your constituents and your instincts and block this cap and tax job killer. Our economy depends on it.
	Report Comment marjo, (11/4/2009 11:58:43 AM) I just threw up in my mouth a little...gag
	Report Comment Ignatz, A nice place where Democrats hold every office in the County. (11/4/2009 12:19:48 PM) Boxer better grab the disinfectant handiwipes quickly! No telling what part of an oil lobbyist's anatomy ole Jimbo has been handling!
	Report Comment out here in the middle, Sand Springs (11/4/2009 12:21:02 PM) Those of you who are dogging Inhofe for his beliefe that global warming science is wrong, what are you doing personally to reduce greenhouse emissions? What are you doing to decrease our dependence on foreign oil, or oil in general? You sit at your keyboard and you gritch and groan about this stuff, but are you doing anything personally to make a difference? Senators Boxer and Kerry talk a lot about global warming, but they still fly private jets, and drive everywhere they go. We talk about global warming and polar ice caps, but every time there is a story about bicycling as a mode of transportation, the same people get on here and complain about their right to the roads, and how cyclists need to get off the streets. So how about we all do something personal and practical about climate change? Ride your bicycle to work. Ride it to the store. If there is a trip that is under two miles, ride a bike. Quit complaining, and start doing something.
	Report Comment Welcome to America !, Claremore (11/4/2009 12:27:35 PM) Keep up the fight Inhofe.
	Report Comment truth fairy, (11/4/2009 12:28:10 PM) Inhofe is just following orders from his war profiteering "Family" that want to maintain their status quo. All of you loyal Inhofe supporters, blinded by fear and greed, will continue to fund their middle eastern carpetbagging in the name of "patriotism". Suckers. Are you ever going to open your eyes to this corporate con job? Who do you think is responsible for the financial mess we're in, ACORN? Get real. Put down the koolaid and think for yourself, like grown-up human beings, because sheep are inevitably led to slaughter.
	Report Comment mongo76, (11/4/2009 12:39:14 PM) Good job Senator Inhofe for asking what the costs of this legislation would be and how it could impact the over 420,000 jobs provided by the manufacturing, transportation & utility companies in Oklahoma.
	Report Comment Popeye, T-Town (11/4/2009 12:52:03 PM) I watched a mini town hall last night that posed questions to some voters from Virginia. Both parties were represented and one of the questions was about Kerry's energy bill. Every single person in the room, save one couple, were against the bill and against anymore government spending of any kind. The following hilarious comment came from the one couple (both Democrats) that responded in favor of this bill: "We've got to do something! People are dying!" With only 58% of Americans paying taxes, over 50% of all children on Food Stamps, over 90% of African-American children on Food Stamps, Inner City crime at an all-time high, high-school drop-out rates at an all-time high, unemployment at levels unseen for almost a century, the economy on crutches, our debt being secured by foreign lenders, and the deficit off the charts; THIS is how Congress and the President see things?? GOOD GRIEF!!

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