The climate change bill represents an opportunity to curb the speed and effects of global warming as well as create a less toxic world, resulting in fewer pollution related health issues. It will also create millions of jobs, something the economy could really use right now.
One would think such an important piece of legislation would be taken seriously and politicians would be civil in their efforts to pass or stop the passage of the bill. However, it has been a much different story entirely.
Democrats have been employing the usual techniques in their attempts to pass the legislation: lobbying of members by the President, town hall meetings to build support among constituencies and media interviews. But Republicans have taken a much more creative and obstructionist position.
Since the beginning of summer, when debate on the bill started, it has passed the House of Representatives and is currently being debated in the Senate.
The climate change bill would impose the first ever limits on carbon dioxide emissions and other greenhouse gas pollution from power plants, factories and refineries. It would also force a shift from coal and other fossil fuels to renewable and more efficient forms of energy.
The end goal is to reduce carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions 17 percent from 2005 levels by 2020 and 83 percent by mid-century.
This is important because U.S. carbon dioxide emissions from the burning of fossil fuels are increasing at about 1 percent a year and are predicted to continue increasing without mandatory limits.
This reduction would occur by using a system known as cap and trade. In a cap and trade system, a cap is placed on how much pollution a company can create. For every ton of carbon dioxide a company emits beyond that limit, it must pay for a permit. If a company pollutes less then its cap allows, then it can sell its excess space to companies that pollute more than their caps.
The White House and congressional Democrats argue the bill will create millions of green jobs as the nation shifts to greater reliance on renewable energy sources such as wind and solar and development of more fuel-efficient vehicles.
Bound to score a "victory" over Democrats, regardless of the cost to the environment or Americans, Republicans have been pulling out all the stops and have started to get downright nasty.
Last week, Senate Republicans boycotted a meeting of the committee that was making amendments to the bill, claiming they wouldn't attend any meeting about the bill until a full cost analysis had been completed. This is a particularly unusual request considering the early stage the bill is in and the number of amendments that will likely be added.
Even after Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid promised a full cost analysis of the bill for the final vote in the Senate, Republicans still kept their stubborn ways and refused to attend any meetings.
And when Republicans are willing to work with Democrats, such as Sen. Lindsey Graham, they've been lambasted by the rest of their party. South Carolina Republicans asked for the censorship of Sen. Graham as a result of his efforts with the Democrats. A censure is a formal reprimand issued by an authoritative body.
During the debate in the House of Representative, Republicans employed several other major stalling maneuvers. At one point, Rep. Tom Price, asked the House to observe a moment of silence in honor of the millions of Americans he said will lose their jobs because of the bill.
Another time, House Republicans threatened to read the entire 900 page bill into the record, a process that would take a full day's worth of work and cost an undeterminable amount of money. To counter this effort, House Democrats hired a speed reader, after which Republicans finally ended their threat.
During the final vote in the House, Minority Leader John Boehner launched an unprecedented move by using a House version of a filibuster. He did this by reading, and mocking, much of a 300-page amendment's text. He had been given five minutes for remarks but ended up delaying the vote for just more than an hour.
These techniques aren't unique to just the climate change bill either; they've been used in the health care reform debate as well. Despite every tactic used, that bill passed the House this past weekend, 220-215.
Republicans have been doing everything in their power to stop this important progress, and appear to be hissy-fit throwing 5th graders in the process. If we plan to tackle one of the most important issues of our generation, our politicians must be serious and put partisan politics aside. Until then, the changes that are desperately needed won't occur.
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