Bob McCarty Writes

Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) appeared on Fox News Channel this morning (see video above) to discuss the unprecedented actions taken by Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) this morning. According to Inhofe, ranking member of the committee, Senator Boxer reported out S. 1733, the Kerry-Boxer climate change bill, without one member of the minority party present, a clear violation of longstanding committee rules.

Soon after making his appearance on Fox, Senator Inhofe issued the following statement about Senator Boxer’s actions:

“I am deeply disappointed by Chairman Boxer’s decision to violate the rules and longstanding precedent of the committee,” Senator Inhofe said. “The Republicans offered a clear path forward to a bipartisan markup, but it was summarily rejected by Chairman Boxer.  Instead, she decided to ignore the entreaties of all 6 ranking members from Senate committees with some share of jurisdiction over climate change legislation, as well as leading moderates in the Senate.  Her action signals the death knell for the Kerry-Boxer bill.

“As was written recently, the Kerry-Boxer bill is ‘bad policy’ that ‘resembles the failed climate proposals of the past.’  It is time for a different approach, one that grows, rather than shrinks our economy, creates, rather than destroys jobs, and strengthens, rather than weakens our energy security.  We can do this by encouraging development of all of America’s vast energy resources.”

To read previous posts about the Kerry-Boxer bill and what it means for Americans, click here.