For more than a year, a small group of powerful senators has been working behind the scenes, trying to craft a new energy bill that all the big stakeholders can agree to.

On Wednesday, Sens. John Kerry and Joseph Lieberman unveiled that bill — with the help of an unlikely mix of backers that included an environmentalist, an energy company CEO and an evangelical pastor. Still, like all things in politics, the bill's fate may depend as much on timing as on its popularity. The measure aims at cutting carbon dioxide emissions by 17 percent in the next decade. It would create a limited cap-and-trade system for companies to buy and exchange emissions credits.

"The most important and unique thing this bill does is to put a price on carbon that reflects its real cost to our society and our economy," Lieberman said.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126782943
Senators Unveil Energy Bill Despite Setbacks
by Andrea Seabrook NPR, 12 May 2010