Language for the Kerry-Boxer climate change bill was released on Oct. 23, 2009 and the Environment and Public Works Committee began hearing on the legislation on Tuesday, Oct. 27.  You can find a link to S. 1733, Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act, here. 

This "Chairman's Mark" includes provisions Sen. Sanders, a member of the committee and chairman of the Green Jobs and the New Economy subcommittee, strongly supports and some which he authored, including but not limited to:

• Emissions Reduction Target is 20 percent below 2005 levels by 2020 (House bill includes a 17 percent reduction) (page 426)
• EPA's Clean Air Act Authority is retained (no page number, bill is silent on this to preserve the authority)
• International Offsets reduced from 1 billion tons annually in House bill to half a billion tons annually in Senate bill (p. 491-493)
• Funding for renewable energy and energy efficiency programs is significantly increased, from 9.5% in year 1 in the House bill (which also included transportation), to nearly 11% in year 1 in the Senate bill (not including transportation, which gets separate additional funding) (p. 625 and 635-636)
• Funding is provided for utility-scale renewable energy projects such as solar thermal, wind, and biomass, through a 15 percent carve-out of the renewable energy and energy efficiency funds (so roughly $1 billion in year 1) (p. 882, supported by Solar Energy Industries Association, American Wind Energy Association, NRDC)
• Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program (created by Sens. Sanders and Menendez) for local governments gets 25% of efficiency and renewable funding (an estimated $1.5 billion in the first year) (p. 882, 893, supported by U.S. Conference of Mayors)
• Thermal Energy Efficiency Act, S. 1621, introduced by Sens. Sanders and Merkley, gets 10 percent of state energy efficiency funding (roughly $150 million in the first year) (p. 884-886, supported by Biomass Energy Resource Center, American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, Biomass Thermal Energy Council, U.S. Clean Heat and Power Association, International District Energy Association, Sustainable Northwest)
• Transportation Low Emissions Energy Plan, S. 1721, introduced by Sen. Sanders, is included and gets funding for Dept. of Transportation to map out electric vehicle recharging stations on roads and highways, and fund pilot programs including for freight and in rural areas (p. 629-630, 876-879)
• Green Jobs Act (written and passed by Sen. Sanders and then-Sen. Clinton) gets funding for 2012-2015 (in House was only 2 years) (p.630, 897-898, supported by Green for All, BlueGreen Alliance)
• Leading states such as Vermont get an incentive in the form of increased state funding if they continue to be more energy efficient (p. 881-882)
• Small rural cooperative and public power customers receive more consumer assistance to help with their energy bills (double the amount in the House bill) (p. 618-619, 636)
• Farmers and forest land owners will receive incentives to manage their land in a way that reduces or avoids greenhouse gas emissions (p. 170-177, 631-632, 636, supported by Trust for Public Land)
• A new program to provide financial assistance to replace old and inefficient wood stoves with newer, cleaner units (p. 225-231)