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In a Monday evening blog post on Talking Points Memo, Senator John Kerry (D-MA) wrote that "no serious legislation ever makes it very far in Congress before it's declared dead - at least once, sometimes two or three times."
He pointed out that pattern because his serious legislation, a bipartisan climate and energy bill, could be in danger of dying.
Kerry's bill, the unveiling of which had been rescheduled from Earth Day to Monday - with the goal of distancing itself from the environmental movement and thus making itself more appealing to conservatives - remains unreleased. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), one of the bill's co-authors (the other is Connecticut Independent Joe Leiberman) decided over the weekend that he is not comfortable attaching his name to the legislation.
Graham's discomfort, however, appears unrelated to the bill itself. Rather, he feels betrayed by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), who has responded to the passage of an exceptionally heavy-handed Arizona immigration and border security law by deeming immigration reform a top priority for the Senate, a declaration that seems to bump the climate and energy bill to number two.
Though Graham is one of very few Republican politicians in favor of both immigration and climate legislation, he wants Reid to slow down on immigration. Graham fears a rushed and politically-motivated immigration bill, and he hopes that Reid will allow the Senate to maintain its focus on the climate and energy bill, a bill into which he has put an immense amount of work.
It looks like Reid is listening. In his most recent comments, he acknowledged that the climate and energy bill will likely be the next one he and his colleagues try to pass:
Common sense dictates that if you have a bill that is ready to go, that is the one I am going to go to. Because immigration - we don’t have a bill yet.
In preparation, Senators Kerry and Leiberman - with Senator Graham's blessing - have sent their bill to the EPA for analysis. More analysis, more political arguments, and probably more near death experiences will follow.
