SENATORS PREPARE COMPROMISE CLIMATE CHANGE BILL

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Six months after introducing a sweeping climate change bill that flopped in the Senate, Democrat John Kerry is preparing to offer a compromise measure that seeks to reel in reluctant senators.

Kerry, collaborating with Republican Senator Lindsey Graham and independent Senator Joseph Lieberman, might introduce a new bill promoting clean energy early next week, just days before the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, environmental sources said.
Despite Kerry's consistently upbeat assessment of legislative prospects this year, the new bill also faces plenty of hurdles.
On Friday, a new problem potentially arose when U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens announced his retirement. President Barack Obama said he would move quickly to name a replacement.
That will trigger a Senate confirmation debate that could eat up time -- like the healthcare debate did over the past year -- that otherwise could be spent on the complicated, far-reaching energy and environment bill.
Reacting to the news of Stevens' retirement, Kerry insisted there was time to pass major legislation "and still confirm a new justice."
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