Senate leaders indicated that while there will be a debate on the Murkowski amendment, it will not come to a vote.
Her effort to undermine the Clean Air Act, to fiddle while Alaska burns has failed. But she will likely come back to offer this amendment in the future. EPA action through the CAA remains an imperfect and politically unreliable tool for achieving short-term, medium-term, and long-term emissions reductions — and no tool at all for achieving an international climate treaty (see “The dangerous myth that the EPA’s endangerment finding can somehow stop dangerous warming if the climate bill dies”).
Climate science activists need to focus on passing the comprehensive energy and global warming bill to create jobs, increase America’s energy independence, reduce pollution, and preserve clean air and clean water for future generations. And who knows, if she has any intellectual consistency and any interest in stopping her home state from being ravaged, maybe the Senator from Alaska will vote for the final bill — see Murkowski calls for tougher energy bill: “Climate legislation must have more immediate environmental benefits” than Waxman-Markey!
UPDATE: Here is the EPA letter against the latest version of the Murkowski amendment.
UPDATE2: She is on the Senate floor right now (12:53) throwing in the towel and defending her absurd proposal. Now she claims there is a “rush” to pass a Senate climate bill — after 12 years of doing nothing.
UPDATE3: Murkowski says she will “working in good faith” with those in the Senate trying to pass a comprehensive climate and energy bill. She says she has cosponsored cap-and-trade legislation. Claims the Senate energy bill would significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, which isn’t true.
UPDATE3: Sen. Feinstein (D-CA) smacks down Murkowski at great length, saying “we can’t afford to bury our heads in the sand on climate change” and if you don’t want the EPA to take action, then the only alternative is cap-and-trade. “Global warming is real…. it’s happening all over the world.” Attacks the “Flat Earth Society” who opposes action.