(Recasts lead; provides more detail about Democrats who might not favor climate-change bill in third paragraph; background about politics of energy in sixth through eighth paragraphs; background on bill in 10th paragraph.)
By Siobhan Hughes
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- Record-high gasoline prices played into the hands of climate-change bill opponents on Friday, helping to defeat a sweeping U.S. Senate plan to drastically cut U.S. greenhouse-gas emissions and limit the effects of climate change.
The 48-36 vote in the U.S. Senate was 12 short of the number needed to bring debate to a close and vote on the bill. Democrats from oil and manufacturing states joined 32 Republicans to oppose going forward with the legislation by Sens. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., and John Warner, R-Va.
The three lawmakers claimed victory, saying that had some allies voted, a majority of the Senate would have supported going forward with climate-change legislation. The optimism came even as some lawmakers who sided with Democratic leaders on the procedural vote have indicated that they might not support the climate-change bill. Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., and Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., are among those who followed party leaders but indicated they had concerns.
"We're making tremendous progress," Boxer told reporters.
Climate-change legislation had always been viewed as a long-shot, but supporters had hoped to set the framework for action next year by establishing principles for compromise. Instead, Democratic leaders who had pushed the bill found themselves on the defensive as gasoline prices hovering around a record-high $4 a gallon played into the hands of Republican opponents who pointed out that the measure would raise energy costs.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky, and other Republican leaders made high gasoline prices one of their main lines of attack, and then tied up the Senate floor by forcing Senate clerks to spend all day Wednesday reading the bill. The tactics prompted Senate Democrats to cut short the amount of time devoted to debating, limiting chances to nail down areas of compromise.
"If we'd have done two weeks, we'd have maybe passed a few amendments, adjusted a little more, gotten a couple of more votes," said Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., one of the Democrats negotiating on the bill.
Senate Democratic leaders aim to take the offensive next week, when they plan to bring up for debate a bill aimed at lowering gasoline prices to the Senate floor. A Tuesday vote is scheduled on whether to proceed with legislation that would impose a tax on oil-company profits deemed to have been generated from extra-high prices. among other things. Democrats say this would lower gasoline prices, while Republicans favor increased drilling in off-limits areas such as the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
Democratic leaders are now looking ahead to the November elections, which they expect to strengthen their hand to deal with climate change. Presidential contenders Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., didn't show up to vote on Friday, but both are on the record supporting emissions limits of the sort included in the climate-change bill.
Under the bill, polluters would have to hold allowances for the right to spew emissions into the atmosphere, up to the limit permitted under law. Companies that had trouble staying within limits would have to buy additional allowances, while companies that found cheap ways to reduce emissions could sell excess allowances. The effect would be to penalize polluters and reward companies that find ways to operate with more energy-efficiency.
Big polluters have lobbied hard against the bill, which would require power plants, oil refiners and other polluters to pay for the right to release carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. The goal is to cut greenhouse-gas emissions by 66% by 2050. A U.N. scientific panel last year said the world needs to cut emissions of heat-trapping gases into the atmosphere by 50% to 85% by 2050 in order to limit damage from climate change.
-By Siobhan Hughes, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-6654; Siobhan.Hughes@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 06, 2008 12:41 ET (16:41 GMT)