Senate debates climate bill

CORNYN: "That’s a lot of money even here in Washington, DC …"

And a big tax increase for American consumers, says Cornyn. The bill promises 800 billion dollars in tax relief to help cushion the blow. But he says there’s no guarantee that’ll happen.

CORNYN: "In Texas, because of the wet blanket it would put on our economy, it’s estimated that as many as 300K Texans would lose their jobs … families would pay as much as 145% more for electricity and 147% more for increased cost of gasoline."

Cornyn touts an alternative approach. It starts with off-shore drilling and developing other domestic sources of oil to drive down gas prices in the near-term. Then to clean up the environment and reduce dependence on foreign oil in the long term: aggressive federal investment in renewable energy technologies … including wind, solar and especially nuclear.

Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison says she favors taking steps to improve the environment. But she, too, opposes the Lieberman-Warner bill.

HUTCHISON: "Certainly it will export jobs from TX to other countries where you don’t have these kinds of restrictions."

The bill has been in play since Monday. The Senate has yet to vote on any amendments. Most lawmakers say the bill is unlikely to pass. Even if it does, the White House has promised a veto.

Capitol News Connection’s Elizabeth Wynne Johnson reports for KUT News.