At Wednesday’s Agriculture Committee hearing on climate change policy, Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.), who is expected to take over as chairof the committee, again voiced her concerns about passing cap-and-trade legislation this year — though she seemed a bit less aggressively against moving a bill this year than she has in previous statements. Lincoln affirmed that it “isn’t necessarily my preference to move forward on cap-and-trade this year.” But she also indicated that she will want to have a hand in crafting portions of the bill, like the role of agriculture and regulation of the carbon market — two areas she’ll have more ability to shape from a role as chair. “If we do move forward … the regulation of carbon markets is something we need to get right,” said Lincoln.
Lincoln didn’t have much else to say at Wednesday’s hearing, other than to caution that if the Senate does pass climate legislation, “we don’t do so by putting a disproportionate burden on farms and farm families.”