Washington, 29 April 2010

The US President signalled Congress will focus on climate legislation next – ahead of immigration. Speaking to reporters on Air Force One Thursday, President Barack Obama said Congress unlikely wants to take up immigration legislation this year, since it must first address energy and climate reform. "We've gone through a very tough year and I've been working Congress pretty hard, so I know there may not be an appetite immediately to dive into another controversial issue," Obama said.

With the administration indicating that immigration may be punted to next year’s Congressional agenda, this could pave the way for the passage of a climate bill this year.

"There's still work that has to be done on energy, mid-terms (elections) are coming up, so I don't want us to do something just for the sake of politics that doesn't solve the problem," he said.

Stalled Bill

Democratic Senator John Kerry, Republican Lindsey Graham and Independent Joe Lieberman were due to unveil a comprehensive energy and climate change bill Monday.

The senators worked for more than six months to gain broad support their proposal, known as the KGL bill, and had won the backing of major industries and businesses.

But Graham backed off from working on the bill just two days before its debut due to a spat with the administration and Democratic leaders over immigration reform.

Graham – who is also tasked with writing a bipartisan immigration bill – said he would not resume work on the KGL bill unless immigration is dropped from the 2010 docket.

He called Democrats’ initial decision to prioritise immigration over climate and energy reform a “cynical political ploy” aimed at winning votes in an election year.

Next Step

But Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, and now Obama, have retreated from earlier positions, and have indicated the KGL bill would be the next bill addressed in Congress.

Graham’s office was not immediately available for comment regarding Obama’s statement yesterday.

The KGL bill is currently in the hands of the Environmental Protection Agency for economic modelling, the results of which will be vital for a Senate floor debate.

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