Close Vote in Senate Previews GOP Attacks on Obama's Global Climate Strategy

The Obama administration yesterday narrowly survived the first major attack on its efforts to forge a new global climate change agreement.

By a vote of 51-46, the Senate rejected a measure by Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) that would have insisted upon Senate approval of any new international global warming accord and barred any deal that imposed "disparate" carbon commitments for the United States and other countries.  It also would have declared invalid an agreement Obama crafted with Chinese President Xi Jinping last year, calling it a "bad deal" for America.

"We're the only party that has a commitment made in the agreement with China.  The Chinese agree to increase emissions," Blunt said in arguing for the amendment.

Agreed Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), who co-sponsored the measure, "We heard in the [president's] speech on Tuesday that they're negotiating with China and some great, successful negotiation took place. ... Do you know what they came out with in that?  Nothing. China said we'll keep increasing our emissions until 2020, then we'll look at it and decide if we want to lower it.  That's not much of a negotiation, and it's not very comforting."

The amendment, which came as part of a marathon debate on the Keystone XL pipeline, needed 60 votes to pass.  Yet it still won the approval of a majority of lawmakers, including Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who once championed strong U.S. action on climate change.  Only one Democrat, Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, voted in favor of the measure, while two Republicans, Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire and Susan Collins of Maine, opposed it.

Read more a Close Vote in Senate Previews GOP Attacks on Obama's Global Climate Strategy