By Amy Harder
October 1, 2009
In an interview this morning with NBC’s David Gregory, Sen. John McCain dismissed the efforts his Democratic colleagues in both chambers have made on climate change legislation. The Arizona Republican, who co-authored the first cap-and-trade bill with Sen. Joe Lieberman, ID-Conn., in 2003, said nuclear power is essential for any energy bill to effectively reduce greenhouse gases.
The bill introduced Wednesday by Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., and Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., has “nothing about nuclear power,” McCain complained in the interview, which was part of the “First Draft of History” forum sponsored by The Atlantic and the Aspen Institute. “It’s the left-wing environmental organizations that are not allowing us to move forward with nuclear power.”
He noted that France generates roughly 80 percent of its power from nuclear energy. “So, what are we doing up here? Nothing,” the senator scoffed. “To me, that is an offense to my intellect and what we need to do to” address climate change.
McCain also reiterated many lawmakers’ concerns with the House energy bill’s cap-and-trade scheme. The Kerry-Boxer bill has a similar program. The notion that cap-and-trade could generate more than $600 billion in revenue is the reason the House legislation got a reputation as a “cap and tax” bill, McCain said. In his original cap-and-trade plan, he said, “I never envisioned it as a source of revenue.”