Kerry, Lieberman unveil climate bill

By Matt Viser, Globe Staff

WASHINGTON – Senator John F. Kerry unveiled his signature climate change legislation this afternoon, delivering an impassioned speech about the need for passage even while its prospects remain highly uncertain.

"The path to progress has been long,” Kerry said at a packed press conference where he was joined by the bill’s co-author, Senator Joseph Lieberman. “But despite Washington conventional wisdom, we are closer than we've ever been to a breakthrough."

“This isn’t a choice,” he added. “It’s a necessity, and we’re going to get it done this year.”

Kerry was surrounded by energy executives, environmental groups, and nuclear power interests. Notably missing were any oil company executives.

“One CEO of an oil company is very busy,” Kerry said, referencing the BP executive who was in a nearby congressional hearing room testifying about the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

The bill aims to reduce reliance on foreign oil while putting a price on carbon emissions and providing billions of dollars in incentives to industry to drastically cut greenhouse gases.

In an acknowledgment of the mounting anger over the spill – and in a bid to draw more support from coastal Democrats – Kerry and Lieberman altered the bill to give states more say over offshore drilling. States would be allowed to veto plans for any drilling within 75 miles of their shores. In addition, they could veto plans for drilling off neighboring states if they can show significant impacts.

Still, Kerry and Lieberman are taking a political gamble in releasing the bill without the Republican support that Kerry once called crucial. Senator Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican, had spent months helping to craft the proposal, only to back away several weeks ago over opposition to an unrelated immigration overhaul.

Graham released a statement this afternoon that, while generally supportive, suggested he thought the chances of passage this year were thin.

“The problems created by the historic oil spill in the Gulf, along with the uncertainty of immigration politics, have made it extremely difficult for transformational legislation in the area of energy and climate to garner bipartisan support at this time,” Graham said.

In lieu of Republican support, Kerry is banking on politically-connected industry executives to pressure their home-state senators to pass the bill. A key bargaining chip for Kerry is that the Environmental Protection Agency has considered developing its own greenhouse gas rules. Such regulations could be more far-reaching, which worries Republicans and oil-producing states. Kerry’s bill would prohibit the EPA from developing its own rules.

For Kerry and Lieberman to succeed, President Obama would also have to aggressively push for the bill, both through public appearances and behind-the-scenes appeals to recalcitrant Democrats.

“Americans know what’s at stake by continuing our dependence on fossil fuels,” Obama said this afternoon. “But the challenges we face — underscored by the immense tragedy in the Gulf of Mexico — are reason to redouble our efforts to reform our nation’s energy policies. For too long, Washington has kicked this challenge to the next generation. This time, the status quo is no longer acceptable to Americans.”

Later, in a briefing with reporters, Kerry and Lieberman said they expected the bill could come to the Senate floor in late June or early July. They said they thought there were more than 60 senators who could be persuaded to vote for the bill – including Senator Scott Brown, the newly elected Massachusetts Republican.

After giving members a chance to review the legislation, Kerry and Lieberman are planning a more concerted push over the next few weeks.

Representative Edward J. Markey, the co-author of a climate bill the House approved last year, praised the legislation released today.

“The time to act is now,” Markey said. “We cannot wait. China is not waiting. Europe is not waiting. And the health of our economy and our environment hangs in the balance. Working with the Senate and the Obama administration, this will be the year that we finally create a lasting clean energy future for our country.”

Matt Viser can be reached at maviser@globe.com.