Originally published on the CGS blog on November 3, 2009.
Today is a momentous day for global warming legislation, as the markup in the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee is scheduled to begin. Yet, the day is tainted by the fact that the Republican Party plans to boycott the markup all together. Not one of the seven Republicans on the panel plans to attend the meeting.
Under such circumstances, one cannot help but think back to just a few decades ago, when the Republicans were at the forefront of environmental legislation. In a speech last Thursday, Senator Barbara Boxer noted “The interesting thing is most of these environmental laws started with a Republican president named Richard Nixon. What happened to the days when environmental laws were supported on both sides? Those days appear to be gone.”
Senator Boxer makes a good point. The Clean Water Act of 1972 was a product of bipartisan effort and ultimately signed into law by President Nixon. The Clean Air Act of 1970 and Amendments of 1990 were again pursued by Republicans. A notice released by the EPA in 1990 about the Clean Air Act noted, “Through his leadership, the President (George H. W. Bush) broke the 13-year clean air stalemate by submitting an innovative, market-based bill which will achieve the nation’s environmental goals in the most effective manner.” Thus, it is evident that there was a time in which Republicans took the initiative to pursue environmental legislation. This created a bipartisan environment in which both parties could work together to pass legislation that could actually make a difference.
Now, just a few decades later, the story is completely different as the Republicans refuse to participate in the global warming legislation markup entirely. They have their reasons of course, including their claim that they were not given complete information from the EPA and the Congressional Budget Office. Yet, regardless, their refusal to participate seems a bit stubborn. Senator Boxer noted that it would be in “remarkably bad faith” for the Republicans to stay away from the markup.
All this conflict is enough to make one long for the good old days, when the parties just got along. At least when it came to climate change legislation.
