On the night of March 21, Congress passed the most comprehensive reform act since the time of the Great Society. This fight for healthcare reform took a great deal of time and much political capital, but now that the fixes have passed the Senate, there will be new legislative focus on issues that have largely been sidelined. Among these are education, immigration, financial regulation, and energy and climate change.

 

My focus has been on climate, and given the divisive nature of energy and climate change, it would be wise to move quickly, effectively and soon on the matter. If necessary, extended powers of the EPA, along with a reconciled carbon tax could be a simple but effective way to alleviate our climate crisis. You could also put much of cap-and-trade legislation through reconciliation in the Senate, making it much easier to pass. While there are some signs of bipartisan support for environmental legislation, 60 votes would almost certainly mean weaker law and more delay. 

 

Still, this issue is likely to be addressed after financial regulation, but if legislation gets bogged down like healthcare, our environment could be in trouble. Congressional leaders could also increase the force of the legislation, as well as its likelihood of passage by implementing the measures after midterm elections, making it a nonissue and thus less politically volatile. 

 

However a climate bill (hopefully) passes, it must be done soon, while there are sizeable Democratic majorities and before the Climate Summit in Mexico. While Copenhagen turned out to be less fruitful than originally hoped, the time for major action has not passed. The opportunity remains, but time is not a luxury in the case of this issue.