That’s hard to say right now, as key Senators have delayed the bill’s introduction to a Senate committee, and others say there aren’t enough votes for any bill this year.

In June, the House of Representatives rammed through its version of Cap-and-Trade legislation, the 1300-page Waxman-Markey bill, but things are much dicier in the Senate.

Monday, two key sponsors of a Cap-and-Trade bill in the Senate, Barbara Boxer of California and John Kerry of Massachusetts, announced they were delaying its introduction from next week until later in September. Initially, Boxer, chairwoman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, had said that she would introduce her plan next week so it could be approved by the committee before the end of September. (For a more detailed discussion of Cap and Trade legislation, go here: The Supply Chain and Cap and Trade.)

The Green Supply Chain Says: The general consensus is that if a Cap-and-Trade bill is to be successful in the Senate, it will be substantially different than the Waxman-Markey bill. What Do You Say? Click Here to Send Us Your Comments Click Here to See Reader Feedback

Boxer and Kerry “are working diligently to craft a well-balanced bill, and Senator Reid fully expects the Senate to have ample time to consider this comprehensive, clean energy and climate legislation before the end of the year,” Jim Manley, a spokesman for Senate Majority Lead Harry Reid, said Monday.

However, the odds of the bill’s success in the Senate remain uncertain. Some Democratic Senators have said the bill does not have enough votes to pass, or at least to overcome filibuster.

“Before the heat turned up in health-care town meetings, before the spines of Blue Dogs stiffened and before deteriorating presidential opinion polls, cap-and-trade was unpopular and likely to fail in the Senate,” Tony Fratto, former Deputy Press Secretary for the Bush administration, told the Washington Post this week.

“Success in the Senate is a more difficult challenge. It will require true bipartisan engagement, compromise and far more active leadership by the Obama administration,” added Steve Seidel, vice president for policy analysis at the Pew Center on Global Climate Change.

The general consensus is that if a Cap-and-Trade bill is to be successful in the Senate, it will be substantially different than the Waxman-Markey bill, in part because many feel that legislation is deeply flawed. For example, it gives away, at no cost, 85% of emission allowances to existing coal users and other interests.

If a much different bill passes the Senate, reconciling that legislation with the House bill will also prove a difficult challenge.

Do you expect Cap and Trade to pass the Senate any time soon? If so, will it be much different than the Waxman-Markey bill? Let us know your thoughts at the Feedback button below.