Environment Committee Republicans Ditch Climate Hearing

Senate Republicans have made little secret of their intent to oppose cap-and-trade legislation. Last week Oklahoma Sen. James Inhofe—possibly Congress's most vocal climate change skeptic and opponent of climate legislation—threatened that if environment committee chair Sen. Barbara Boxer tried any funny business before the markup of the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act, such as not giving members enough time to review it, he would lead a boycott of the meeting among all Republicans on the committee, on which he is the ranking member. It would have been a brazen move to slow the committee’s debate by simply not showing up, thus causing the body to not make quorum. But for a party impotently in a 7-12 minority, Inhofe recognized that his options are limited. “The only leverage we have is the quorum leverage,” he told The Washington Post late last week.

Inhofe hasn’t yet had to make good on his promise. In fact, this morning when Boxer opened the first of several high-profile committee hearings to discuss the legislation, the benches on both sides were nearly full. But following the series of five-minute opening statements by all members, there was a Republican exodus—one after another, all packed up their papers and walked out. It didn’t appear to be an organized movement of any kind, but was certainly noticeable to the rows of reporters in the room, as well as the panel of administration officials—Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, Energy Secretary Steven Chu, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, and EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson—who sat through several hours of opening statements to answer the panel's questions. By the end of that time, not one GOP voice remained.

Timing can often be unpredictable in committee hearings and most members keep strict schedules, so several empty seats on their own are not terribly newsworthy. But zero Republicans present to hear four cabinet secretaries shines light on the depth of the partisan disconnect on a climate-and-energy bill. Most of the members who left, including Sen. David Vitter, Sen. Lamar Alexander, and Sen. John Barrasso are unlikely to support the legislation no matter what it looks like or how long they have to review it. Not even one of their colleagues, however, staying to hear a distinguished panel is quite unusual. Just like with bold health-care legislation, a Republican attempt to filibuster Boxer’s bill (which she introduced with Sen. John Kerry) is all but a given. With Republicans increasingly distant on the issue, it’s also a given that Democrats have their work cut out.