You can bet they won’t let it die, though. The Hill reports that the Cap and Trade bill will not be out of committee before the end of September. The reported reason? Ted Kennedy’s passing:

“Because of Senator Kennedy’s recent passing, Senator Kerry’s August hip surgery, and the intensive work on healthcare legislation particularly on the Finance Committee where Sen. Kerry serves, Majority Leader Reid has agreed to provide some additional time to work on the final details of our bill, and to reach out to colleagues and important stakeholders,” Sens. Boxer (D-Calif.) and Kerry (D-Mass.) said in a joint statement.

Like Moe Lane in Three Summaries of cap-and-trade I think the real reason is congressional approval ratings and the fear of yet another public outcry similar to the current one about health care reform. Of course with this congress the fact that the public has concerns about the proposed legislation has nothing to do with wanting to pass it. It’s all about attempting to preserve electability.

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