A week or so ago I satirized the ridiculous insistence by the US Chamber that Congress include other nations in its legislation if it wants the Chamber's support.
Well, good news. The Chamber must've read my post (that, or they went to the library to read up on the US Constitution) because the National Journal reports today that
"Donohue ... did indicate that the group was softening its earlier stance that any legislation should require "full international participation." Donohue said today that while international cooperation should be the ultimate goal, "the United States could go ahead and put ahead a bill that did not address that initially," he said. "I'm saying we need both."
That's right, the Chamber buckled.
So, good news Congress! You can rest easy knowing that the US Chamber is not going to insist that a climate bill include the constitutional amendments that would have been necessary to allow you to set emissions limits for other countries.
Now, Politico also reported that
The chamber says it supports "federal legislation to control and reduce greenhouse gas emissions" and could support a cap and trade system - just not the one passed by the House earlier this year."
Which is mostly like what the Chamber said last week, though the suggestion they could live with a cap and trade system is a new one.
Sounds like the pressure is getting to the Chamber, though Donohue insists he's not making any changes, as I blogged earlier today:
"We're not changing where we are...We've thought long and hard about what is important here and we're not going anywhere."
So now Donohue has a new problem. Obviously the Chamber is realizing that its extreme rhetoric is untenable, but how does it come to its senses without letting anyone know?