Voinovich and Lugar Ditch KGL to Work on Competing Energy Bill

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Two moderate Republicans long courted by authors of a Senate climate change bill have disengaged from talks ahead of next week’s unveiling of the legislation and are working on a narrower, competing bill.

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Republicans George V. Voinovich of Ohio and Richard G. Lugar of Indiana are developing an energy-only bill that would mandate new renewable and nuclear power production without imposing cuts on carbon emissions. [...]

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Voinovich has long been considered a prime target of their appeal to moderate Republicans. Unlike some Senate Republicans, Voinovich is not a skeptic about man-made global warming, which he has called “one of the most serious problems of our time.” In addition, his impending retirement from Congress at the end of the current session makes him immune from election year political pressure.

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But in an interview, Voinovich said he views a slimmed-down and more pragmatic energy-only bill as the only chance for addressing climate change this year.

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“I’d like to get something done,” he said. “But I’m not sure it would meet the standards of the environmental groups or what Sen. Kerry would like to get done. I’d like to do the doable — move it down the field while I can.”