Sen. Reid to push climate bill before immigration

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) listens as U.S. President Barack Obama delivers his first State of the Union address on Capitol Hill in Washington January 27, 2010.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said on Wednesday he would work to pass energy legislation before tackling immigration reform, a strategy that might restore the bipartisan coalition behind the climate change bill push.

"I am going to move forward on energy first," the Democratic senator told reporters at a news conference. "The bill's ready. I don't see why we can't do that."

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham pulled out of the effort to craft legislation addressing global warming with Democrat John Kerry and Independent Joseph Lieberman on Saturday, leaving the future of the climate bill unclear.

Graham said he was upset that Senate Democratic leaders and the White House were talking up the possibility of pursuing immigration reform prematurely, and complained it could take away time for a climate debate in the Senate.

Over the past six months, Kerry, Graham and Lieberman have been writing a bill aimed at reducing U.S. emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases by 17 percent by 2020 from 2005 levels. The bill is expected to also include incentives to spur offshore drilling and nuclear power.

That legislation is in line with commitments Obama made in Copenhagen in December during an international summit that attempted to set new global goals for tackling environmental problems associated with climate change.

A grouping of more than 170 businesses, including Exelon and Nike, urged Reid on Wednesday to continue to work with the Senate trio to pass climate legislation this year.

"Every day the Senate fails to pass comprehensive climate and energy legislation is a day our economy falls another step behind," the We Can Lead coalition said in a letter.

"Now is the time to bring the parties together and finish what we started," it said.

Reid's pledge to consider climate legislation before immigration reform still may not be enough to bring Graham back to the negotiating table, however.

Earlier this week, Graham seemed to hint that any discussion of immigration reform, even after passing a climate bill, would be "breaking faith with me."

Kerry, Graham and Lieberman had been expected to unveil the legislation capping greenhouse gas emissions this week, after working on the issue for about six months.

The remaining two senators sent the trio's climate change bill to the Environmental Protection Agency for an analysis of its economic and environmental impact.

Even if the climate bill overcomes the current stalemate, it will still face an uphill battle for support from Republicans and moderate Democrats from states heavily reliant on energy intensive industries.

(Additional reporting by Rachelle Younglai; editing by Mohammad Zargham)