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April 26, 2010

Lindsey Graham threatens energy bill in immigration row

Senator Graham demanded priority on the energy bill

Hopes for the unveiling of a new energy and climate bill in Congress today were derailed over the weekend, after one of the senators behind it threatened to withdraw support.

South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham threatened to torpedo the energy bill because he said the Obama Administration was giving a higher priority to an immigration bill this session.

In a letter to business, environmental and religious leaders, Sen Graham said that the Democrats’ failure to deny comments that they were prioritizing the immigration bill ahead of the energy bill had “destroyed” his confidence in the energy bill’s chances of success.

He said unless there was a rethink over the priority for immigration over the weekend, he said he would be “unable to move forward on energy independence legislation at this time”.

“Cynical”

Sen Graham said the priority for the immigration bill was “nothing more than a cynical political ploy” to win favor ahead of November’s Congressional elections.

“I deeply regret that election year politics will impede, if not derail, our efforts to make our nation energy independent,” he said in the letter.

In a statement responding to Senator Graham’s threat, White House energy policy director Carol Browner said the Obama Administration believed in the need to build support for both energy and immigration reforms.

Ms Browner said: “We have an historic opportunity to finally enact measures that will break our dependence on foreign oil, help create clean energy jobs and reduce carbon pollution. We’re determined to see it happen this year, and we encourage the Senators to continue their important work on behalf of the country and not walk away from the progress that’s already been made.”

We’re determined to see it happen this year” - Carol Browner, White House

The energy bill was expected to include proposals to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 17% compared to 2005 levels by 2020.

However, the proposals are also set to include measures to help offshore oil drilling and the coal industry, as well as establishing new nuclear power plants.

Businesses

A group of 200 US businesses, under the banner We Can Lead, issued a statement over the weekend that was hopeful for a resolution to the row.

It said: “We commend Senators Kerry, Graham and Lieberman for the months of work in building a bipartisan coalition inside and outside the Congress to pass comprehensive energy and climate legislation.  We Can Lead have been strong supporters of this effort and hope that this latest speed bump can be resolved soon, so the Senate can act on a plan that will help create 2 million American jobs.”