On Thursday, the US Senate is scheduled to vote on Lisa Murkowski’s SJRes 26, which would stop the EPA from imposing a cap-and-trade-style energy rationing plan. This will be the most important climate change vote of the year, particularly in the Senate.

But how is the White House dealing with the possibility that the Senate will reject cap and trade? Are they lobbying the Senate, hoping to defeat the resolution, and trying to figure out what their next step is, even if the Senate rejects the proposal? In a word, no. Instead, the White House is currently participating in climate talks in Bonn, intended to lock in cap and trade going forward. If these talks go ‘well,’ energy rationing will be required in the US under the terms of a new global warming treaty. It seems Barack Obama doesn’t really care what the Senate thinks.

And not only is the White House attempting to lock in a policy that the Senate may be about to reject, they’re making billions of dollars in financial commitments as well. According to the State Department, ‘Fast Start Money is Already Flowing’ to developing nations that are ‘most vulnerable’ to climate change. And a ‘significant increase’ is coming in 2011. (Maybe the White House has forgotten that the annual budget deficit is well over $1 trillion – with no sign of leveling off.) Even if the Senate refuses to approve any treaty, the White House will argue we should abide by its provisions, anyway. After all, that’s what they have done with the never-approved Kyoto treaty.

With the White House dead set on ignoring popular will, it’s critical that we send a clear message to Congress that the American people reject this job-killing, wealth-destroying agenda. If you want to take action, click here to make your voice heard.