Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) recently became the first Republican senator to announce strong support for climate and energy legislation this year, although he did not announce support for the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act specifically.
Senator Graham declared his support by co-writing an Op-Ed with Senator John Kerry (D-MA)—the author of the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act—in the New York Times. In the piece, the two Senators proclaimed that they “refuse to accept” that the US cannot be the global leader on climate change.
Kerry and Graham published a number of principles they agree upon:
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- Climate change is a real threat to US national and economic security.
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- Climate change is an opportunity to reduce US dependence on fossil fuels.
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- A clean energy economy will create millions of jobs, either in the US if American leads or overseas if America doesn’t.
Kerry and Graham write that the way forward must include the following:
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- Aggressive action, with a market-based system, to reduce the gases that cause climate change.
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- Comprehensive investment in wind, solar, and nuclear power, and increased onshore and offshore oil and gas exploration.
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- Becoming the “Saudi Arabia of clean coal.”
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- Consideration of a border tax on imports from foreign nations that do not meet agreed-upon clean energy standards.
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- Establishing a floor and a ceiling for emission allowances to protect consumers and businesses from rising energy costs.
The senators closed their argument by invoking the Operation FREE message that climate change and US dependence on fossil fuels pose severe threats to US national security. Their goal is to “pass on to future generations a strong economy, a clean environment and an energy-independent nation.”
With bipartisan support in the Senate, these goals are more than attainable.
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