Skip to Content
Streetsblog Los Angeles home
Streetsblog Los Angeles home
Log In
Climate Change

Grassley: ‘Two or Three Other’ Republicans Open to Climate Change Deal

The Senate's propensity for filibusters, delay, and fruitless attempts at bipartisan deal-making is earning it quite the reputation these days. And climate change legislation, with its big-ticket implications for transit and urban development in general, is becoming increasingly caught up in the Senate's peripatetic politics.

t1home.grassley.gi.jpgSen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) (Photo: CNN)

The
Finance Committee held a hearing today on the job-creating implications
of its climate bill, which would set aside hundreds of millions of
dollars for annual clean transportation grants. Neither the transit
industry nor the renewable energy sector was invited to testify,
although two oil industry-backed witnesses were brought in to criticize the measure.

During
the hearing, Finance chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) sounded hopeful notes
about the need to address carbon emissions. "We should recognize that
in the case of [regulating] acid rain, the
negative consequences were far less than projected," Baucus said. "We
should keep this
in mind when similar claims are made about the effects of legislation
to
address climate change."

And on a conference call with
reporters today, the Finance panel's senior Republican, Chuck Grassley
(IA), gave a reluctant but upbeat assessment of GOP senators' openness
to a bipartisan climate deal:

Well, we have one, Lindsey Graham, working with [Sen. John] Kerry [D-MA] on some sortof a compromise -- if it would include nuclear and would includeoffshore drilling. I don't know whether that's good enough to offsetthe bad that's in the bill or not. I don't think it's good enough forme. But you'll at least him working there. And I wouldn't want to say that there's not two or three other senators.

Two
or three Republicans is not a lot, to be sure. But the climate bill
will need all the votes it can muster to surmount a Senate that's dominated by smaller, rural states -- such as Baucus' and Grassley's.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog Los Angeles

Is the City’s Approach to Measure HLA Resulting in Worse Pavement Conditions on Some Streets?

The city says "Measure HLA has not affected overall citywide [pavement condition]" but some streets - ones the city put repaving on hold for HLA - seem to have a lot of potholes

March 25, 2025

Eyes on the Street – Big Dalton Bike/Walk Path is Now Open

Not the same as the one in Baldwin Park, this multi-use path (formerly the Vincent bikeway) traverses Irwindale, Covina, Azusa, and unincorporated parts between.

March 25, 2025

What’s Next for Measure HLA, in the Face of Metro Opposition?

This is probably something a judge would need to decide at some point

March 21, 2025
See all posts