President Obama this week rolled up his sleeves and waded into the increasingly fractious debate surrounding plans for a US climate bill, gathering key Democrat and Republican Senators in a meeting at the White House to discuss how to move the stalled legislation forward.
The meeting, which also included members of Obama’s cabinet, reportedly failed to deliver concrete breakthroughs but was still seen as a boost to the chances of passing flagship legislation that many observers believe has been neglected as a result of the White House’s focus on passing healthcare reform.
The meeting was attended by the bipartisan trio of Senators – Democrat John Kerry, independent Joe Lieberman, and Republican Lindsey Graham – who have been working on a compromise version of the bill designed to secure the 60 votes necessary for it to pass the Senate.
They did not present the final version of their proposals, which is still expected later this month, but they assured the President that they were making swift progress towards delivering a compromise bill.