This Week in Congress

The Lieberman-Warner cap and trade bill, S. 2191, was approved by a 4-3 vote of the Subcommittee on Private Sector and Consumer Solutions to Global Warming and Wildlife Protection on Thursday, November 1st. Since Senator Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.) is the chairman of the subcommittee and Senator John Warner (R-Va.) is the ranking Republican, this was not a big surprise. The Senators voting in favor were Max Baucus (D-Mont.), Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ). Those voting against were Senators John Barasso (R-Wyo.), Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) and Bernie Sanders (D-Vt.).

It was reported just before the subcommittee’s meeting that the Congressional Budget Office would release a study that demonstrates a cap-and-trade proposal similar to the Lieberman-Warner bill would raise consumer energy costs significantly, while providing approximately $50 billion in annual subsidies to big business special interests.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday, October 31st, voted out the Law of the Sea Treay (LOST) by a 17-4 margin. It has been reported that Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is wasting little time trying to move the treaty to the floor for a ratification vote, which requires a 2/3 majority of those Senators voting. Senator Reid is rushing because he realizes that opposition to LOST is building as Americans find out the threat it poses to American sovereignty, and also how it facilitates a backdoor implementation of Kyoto-style energy rationing regulations.