This post is by Elizabeth Thompson, Legislative Director at Environmental Defense Fund.

Operation Climate Vote

This post is part of a series on the work of the Environmental Defense Action Fund to enact an effective climate law. You can help by writing to Congress.

A bill has to pass both the House and the Senate to become law (see our previous post on how a bill moves through Congress). A climate change bill hasn't yet been introduced in the House, but the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act already has passed out of committee in the Senate.

Whether the bill is brought to the Senate floor for discussion and vote is up to majority leader Harry Reid (D-Nev), and Reid has taken this step. The bill will be considered by the full Senate in the first week of June.

Will it pass? It's possible, but we need your support!

We have a shot at getting 60 votes, according to one of the bill's sponsors (see Greenwire article, subscription required). Right now 45 senators are likely to vote for the bill, with 15 more tilting in our direction. Your donations allow us to:

• Work with Senate leaders to ensure that carbon reduction targets aren't weakened.
• Secure those necessary swing votes in the Senate.
• Lobby House leaders to move global warming legislation out of committee.
• Keep phone calls from constituents coming to maintain pressure on House leaders to bring a bill to the floor.
• Generate earned and paid media to keep the issue in the public eye and keep our leaders focused on the need to act.
• Continue to build and mobilize our online constituency through action alerts and other channels.

If you're thinking it's not so important to pass a bill this year because the next administration will be more favorably inclined, think again. We can't afford to wait. For details on why, check out our series "Why a Bill in 2008".