Murkowski Offers Support for Kerry-Graham Framework
The week of Republicans breaking ranks continues.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, an Alaska Republican, has praised the op-ed by Democrat John Kerry and Republican Lindsey Graham that appeared in the New York Times this weekend, signaling that she may break from her party to support climate change legislation.
In remarks posted on her Web site, Murkowski said she hoped the framework laid out in the op-ed would mark “a turning point in the climate debate”:
“They wrote a column, not a bill, and I do believe it could be improved. But in my opinion, the framework they laid out in those 1,000 words is already better than the policies it took the House 1,400 pages to impose,” Murkowski said.
“Instead of cutting emissions at any cost, we should be working on policy that incorporates the best ideas of both parties – a policy that accounts for our near-term energy needs, limits costs, and is flexible enough to work under different economic circumstances,” she said.
Murkowkski is by no means a sure thing to vote for the Kerry-Boxer bill. But two weeks after declaring on the National Journal Online that “the Senate should emphasize meticulous debate of climate policy over hasty passage,” she seems a lot more ready to move.
More to follow on this.
Photo: Courtesy DAKOTAFINE on Flickr
