Talk Radio News Service: News, Politics, Media

By Ravi Bhatia - Talk Radio News Service

In a news conference Monday, Sens. Jim Webb (D-Va.) and Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) introduced their alternative to the Kerry-Boxer climate bill. The “Clean Energy Act of 2009” would allocate $100 billion in loans for technology-neutral, carbon-free electricity over the next 20 years, with the goal of doubling nuclear production during that time.

The legislation would invest $1 billion over five years on enabling the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to review new nuclear reactor designs. Hitachi and General Electric are two companies that have worked on a design that would create reactors that use fewer pumps and would cut the construction time of a nuclear power plant to 42 months.

Both senators argued that their bill could easily attract bipartisan support, unlike the cap and trade plan, which they said encourages the outsourcing of American jobs. Webb said he was particularly concerned with the complexity of cap and trade, claiming that that there is “no way to fully measure [its] potential impact on the economy.”

“[Our bill] is measurable, achievable, targeted,” Webb said.

While the Webb-Alexander bill primarily focuses on nuclear energy, it would also fund what Alexander calls five “Mini-Manhattan Projects,” which would invest in clean coal, advanced biofuels, advanced batteries, solar power, and nuclear fuel recycling.

Webb, whose opposition to the Kerry-Boxer legislation is a serious blow to the oft-debated bill, said that he and Alexander would continue to oppose it even if their legislation was included.