This Week in Congress 6.02.08 - 6.06.08

Global Warming

This week, the Senate begins floor debate on S. 3036, the Boxer-Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act. A motion to limit debate and proceed to consideration of amendments is expected to easily pass on Monday; debate on the measure is expected to take up most of the week on the floor. It is unclear if votes on final passage will be held this week or at all, as supporters of the Boxer-Lieberman-Warner measure have not yet secured the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster.

Read more from CAP:

• Investing in a Green Economy: Using Cap-and-Trade Auction Revenue to Help American Families and Spur Clean Energy Innovation by Kit Batten, Benjamin Goldstein, and Bracken Hendricks
• Interactive Map: States Benefit from Cap-and-Trade Auction
• In the Clearing Stands a Boxer by Daniel J. Weiss

Supplemental Appropriations

The House may also consider this week the latest supplemental appropriations bill. After the House failed to include funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in their supplemental spending package three weeks ago, the Senate passed a package containing $165 billion in war funding for the remainder of FY08 and early FY09, as well as a $51 billion veterans education benefits expansion, an extension of unemployment insurance, $1 billion in LIHEAP funding, and $10.4 billion in aid for Gulf Coast states affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Read more from CAP:

• Interactive Map: What Are You Paying for the War?
• How Much Will This Cost? CAP Interviews Steve Kosiak

Farm Bill

A clerical error in the enrollment of one title of the Farm Bill has resulted in the need for a re-vote on the entire conference agreement. Although 14 of the Farm Bill’s 15 titles became law after both chambers successfully overrode President Bush’s veto, the Senate this week may repass the entire bill, including the missing title from the first passage. The House repassed the bill two weeks ago prior to the Memorial Day recess.

Read more from CAP:

• Ask the Expert: Jake Caldwell on the Farm Bill
• Hungry for Next Generation Biofuels: Sustainable Crop Diversity Combats Poverty by Jake Caldwell and Gayle Smith