Levin Joining with Republicans to Stop “Cap-and-Trade” Legislation from being Added to Budget Debate

Michigan Democrat Carl Levin recently joined with seven other Democrats and twenty-five Republicans to prevent President Barack Obama from taking quick action on global warming.

Levin signed onto a letter opposing the use of the upcoming budget debate to pass Obama’s global warming legislation. The Senators argue that “enactment of a cap-and-trade regime is likely to influence nearly every feature of the U.S. economy” and as such it should be voted on alone.

However, voting on the bill by itself will make it more difficult for it to pass the Senate. The bill would need to obtain 60 votes, meaning that it would likely be severely weakened in order to get the required votes to prevent a filibuster. Including it in the budget debate would require only a simple majority. The Obama administration is reportedly looking at adding it to the budget process to ensure that it would be passed.

In 2008, Levin was among ten Senators who sought to make failed global warming legislation more friendly to industry.