Senate Climate Bill Now at Least Seven Weeks Away

Harry Reid committed to five-week analysis period after bill gets through all committees to mollify Republicans

According to this Houston Chronicle article, Harry Reid (D, NV), told Barbara Boxer (D, CA), head of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee that he will hold any climate bill to emerge out of her and other Senate committees for a five-week period so its economic costs can be fully analyzed. This should help Boxer possibly get the bill through committee today. (Though there was a near-total Republican boycott this morning, with only Senator Voinovich (R, OH) attending from the GOP to deliver this message, yesterday she promised that there would be opportunity to work on the bill through COB today.) It also answers the letter written by ranking Senate Republicans yesterday demanding further cost analysis. And it should temper concerns that Boxer's partisanism might sink the climate bill, as some say it did last year. (Politico ran a piece early this morning, warning what might happen if she rammed it through committee without GOP support, and minority members of EPW pointed that and six other pieces of analysis to that effect out here.)