by Daniel J. Weiss.

This article was cross-posted from the Center for American Progress.

The Senate has taken Americans on an energy and climate roller coaster over the past year as Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.), Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), and others attempted to craft legislation that would increase investment in clean energy while cutting global warming pollution.

Yet Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) last week acknowledged that the Senate would not debate an energy and global warming bill because it lacked support from a super majority of 60 senators. Sen. Reid noted on July 22 that, “We know we don’t have the votes [for a bill capping emissions].”

The vast majority of Democrats were ready to support a scaled-back bill that would decrease carbon pollution only from power plants while excluding coverage for transportation and manufacturing. Some Republican support was necessary for passage, yet no Republicans publicly supported this action. This included opposition from Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz), Richard Lugar (R-Ind.), and others who had voted for previous global warming bills.

Republican opposition, combined with a handful of Democratic senators who also opposed action, was enough to sink even this modest step. Rep. Rick Boucher (D-Va.), a lead sponsor of the companion House energy and climate bill, observed that “Republicans pulled out of the talks, and it’s just that simple … There’s not another answer.”

Leader Reid had no alternative but to bring a much more limited energy bill to the Senate floor, and he introduced the Clean Energy Jobs and Oil Accountability Act, S. 3663 today. This bill is no substitute for comprehensive clean energy and global warming legislation. But it does deserve Senate passage because the bill makes progress in several critical areas. It would:

Hold

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