From the Inbox - Bill, Baby, Bill

With at least 4 million gallons of oil already poisoning the Gulf Coast and no end in sight for this environmental catastrophe, the alarm bell to end America's dependence on fossil fuels is ringing and has reached a deafening volume. We need a strong bill to transition our nation to clean energy -- and we need it now. Yesterday, we reached an important milestone in this fight when Senators John Kerry and Joe Lieberman released a draft version of their climate and clean energy proposal. This is the starting gun for the Senate to craft and pass the strongest possible climate and clean energy legislation. This week's proposal is not the only language on the table. Over the last year, a number of other Senators, including Senators Susan Collins and Maria Cantwell, have put forward several proposals that also help end our addiction to fossil fuels. The addition of the Kerry-Lieberman draft proposal is important because it is the final piece of the puzzle -- and now it's time for the Senate leadership to craft the strongest bill possible, drawing out the best from all of the ideas that have been put forth. The bill language that is finally selected for consideration by the Senate and the priority that it receives in the Senate calendar is driven by the Senate leadership. And how hard they push for this bill, and how strong it will be, will be determined by how much pressure Senators are feeling from us. Send an email to your Senators telling them that America deserves a strong, uncompromised climate and clean energy bill. This week's draft proposal from Senators Kerry and Lieberman is not perfect -- it does not by itself solve the climate crisis, and there are too many provisions within it that support our continued dependence on fossil fuels, including too few restrictions on offshore drilling. Critically, the proposal does commit the United States to reducing carbon emissions 17% by 2020 and 83% by 2050 from 2005 levels -- meeting the commitments President Obama made to the rest of the world at Copenhagen's climate negotiations last year. On Monday, a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said that the Senator is waiting to hear the public reaction to this draft legislation before he decides if climate and clean energy legislation will be a top legislative priority this year. So we have to make sure our Senators hear from all of us. We cannot afford to wait any longer for climate and clean energy legislation, and we cannot afford weak legislation that won't get the job done. Please send an email to your Senators asking them to do everything in their power to ensure that a comprehensive climate and clean energy bill makes it to the floor of the Senate this year, and that this bill is the strongest bill possible. http://cpaf.repoweramerica.org/senateactionnow Congress's failure to lead on climate and clean energy has cost us far too much already. But the first step to a better future is simple: "Bill, Baby, Bill!" Thanks for making your voice heard at this critical time, Dave Boundy Campaign Manager The Climate Protection Action Fund's Repower America Campaign