The American Power Act of 2010

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Our news release

Erich on Huffington Post: The American Power Act: Kerry’s and Lieberman’s Climate Junk Shot

Erich on Living on Earth (PRI) talking about Kerry-Lieberman

Erich on Uprising Radio talking about Kerry-Lieberman

Public Citizen’s release

Center for Biological Diversity’s release

National Journal: Does the Bill Pass Muster?

Newsweek: Something for Everyone, Everything for No One

Democracy Now: Environmental groups criticize Kerry-Lieberman climate bill

DC Progressive: First look at the Kerry Lieberman Energy Bill: Pros and Cons

Senators John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) unveiled a draft of their long-awaited cap and trade bill, the “American Power Act.”

Unfortunately, it’s as bad as we feared. The American Power Act (pdf) threatens to eliminate critical tools needed to stabilize climate chaos while handing out billions in giveaways to some of the worst industrial polluters in the country.

The Kerry-Lieberman bill rolls back important protections in the Clean Air Act, the strongest tool we have at the federal level to reduce global warming pollution and undermines states’ ability to reduce their carbon footprints with innovative solutions.

Adding insult to injury, the bill would also allow expanded offshore drilling, even though millions of gallons of oil continue to spew into the Gulf of Mexico, damaging the vulnerable ecosystems of the Gulf and the economies that rely on them. With the likes of oil behemoth BP (whose negligence precipitated the catastrophic spill) and other polluters backing the bill, it’s clear who stands to benefit.

Senator Kerry is defending his bill by saying that while it’s not perfect, he thinks it’s the best the Senate can do. We think a better strategy would be for the Obama administration to implement existing Clean Air Act protections, while senators work on building support for a stronger bill — one that doesn’t shower billions on polluters.

We need a bill that maintains all existing Clean Air Act protections, invests in clean energy rather than providing more polluter handouts, and has the integrity to deliver rapid cuts in climate-disrupting emissions.