On the recordMay 13, 2014
two things happened yesterday: First, the Shaheen-Portman energy efficiency bill collapsed--at least for now. It would have created 190,000 new jobs. It would have cut carbon pollution by 22 million automobiles on the roads of the United States in equivalency. That is a big deal. It is something that was agreed upon by Democrats and Republicans. What happened? Well, too many Republicans wanted to vote on the Keystone Pipeline issue. They knew the vote on the Keystone Pipeline was going to fail because they don't have the votes in order to be successful, so they took a bill that would cut carbon emissions and said they wouldn't pass it unless they got a vote on three additional amendments to increase global warming emissions: No. 1. Stop EPA from cutting emissions on powerplants. They wanted to vote to take away EPA authority on that. No. 2. Allow massive export of natural gas that will actually increase costs to consumers in the United States and move us back to coal because the higher the price of natural gas, the more people are going to go back to burning goal. They all understand that. That is what the game is all about. No. 3. Prevent the Senate from considering global warming pollution controls in the future. That is right--just have a vote that prohibits the Senate from considering global warming pollution levels.…
