The first question moderator Frank Sesno asked in yesterday American Clean Energy Now Town Hall was as simple, but important one.

“How many of you are from outside Washington, outside the beltway?” Nearly every hand in the audience went up.

And that was the importance of the town hall, headlined by a speech from Senator John Kerry, voices from the national security, business, energy and labor sectors. This town hall was about 200 real Americans, in Washington to tell their Senators that America needs comprehensive clean energy and climate legislation.

From the steelworker, who when asked if this bill would cost jobs said not on her watch, to the businessman from Dow Chemical, who said the legislation will create millions of jobs, the message was clear: in a struggling American economy, this bill is about jobs.

It is also about national security, as a retired Air Force Lt. General and a veteran of the Iraq war, sitting next to Senator Kerry, made clear. And it was Kerry who made the simplest statement on the subject, saying that the U.S. spending $1 billion overseas for oil everyday is, “crazy.”

Yes, Senator, it is. As is our reliance on oil in general, which leads to these vast overseas expenditures, as well as devastating environmental disasters that put livelihoods at risk. So is our reliance on coal, a dirty, destructive industry led by a CEO who called an explosion in his mine in April that killed 29 workers “an act of God,” and not one of negligence.

And it is crazy to look at a piece of legislation with the ability to move our country into the 21st century economy that workers across America need and not immediately call for its passage. Americans from across this great country came to Washington yesterday to say just that.

Watch Senator Kerry and check back for more videos throughout the day:

At the recent caucus meeting, Senators John Kerry and Joe Lieberman presented a gripping video about our need for comprehensive clean energy and climate legislation.

Watch it:

In a much anticipated move, some sixth months in the making, Senators John Kerry and Joe Lieberman will introduce comprehensive clean energy and climate legislation this afternoon.

After a delay of a little over two weeks, the two senators will announce the legislation in a press conference at the Capitol. A summary leaked last night, followed by a more detailed piece-by-piece description.

According to the summary, the bill will protect consumers through refunds and rebates aimed at keeping energy costs down, while setting a price on carbon and investing in clean energy. The result would be a cut in emissions, new jobs created and a significant cut in oil dependence.

It comes three weeks and one day after an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico touched of a sequence of events leading to a massive oil spill, bringing the conversation about offshore drilling to the forefront.

The chief way to cut dependence on oil is through the transportation industry, not just public, but shipping as well, and the summary has a plan for that as well.

Over $7 billion is provided annually for improvements in mass transit and throughout the highway system, as well as investments in advanced vehicles and natural gas powered trucks. The same section also gives states flexibility around offshore within 75 miles of their shores, something that would have affected the current situation in the Gulf.

Carbon sequestration, nuclear power and natural gas all have their own sections in the summary, as well as a cap on carbon. The bill is excepted to initially affect about 7,500 factories and power plants.

A battle looms in the Senate, with bill proponents squaring off against one of the richest and most aggressive lobbies in Washington – Big Oil – and could drag on for weeks. What it won’t change is the need for comprehensive clean energy and climate legislation.

Don’t expect the longer time line to help calm fears about oil spills either. Even BP is currently admitting that it could be weeks or even months before even a dent is made on the well in the Gulf. This will stay in the public conscience for quite some time, as well as firmly on the minds of those in some states where many have been pro-drilling. Many are seeing first hand the damage done by dirty energy.

Today is the first look at a piece of legislation that could begin to change these outcomes.

“I’m convinced that this is the moment. This is the time.”

Senator John Kerry, in an interview with Politico ahead of next week’s bill drop, said that he is firmly confident that the Senate will take up climate legislation after financial reform, as the president has said he wants to happen.

On the first day of Politico’s weeklong video series, The Green Divide, Kerry gave a three part interview detailing why the bill is important, why he thinks the Senate will be take it up this year and some of what is actually in it.

“This is primarily a jobs bill. It is primarily a bill that is going to excite news jobs in America. It is a bill that is going to contribute to America’s energy independence and to our national security. It’s a bill that is going to cut pollution…and it’s going to do it in a way that is going to put America competitively in the marketplace.”

Watch the first part:

At one point the interviewer asked Kerry the ultimate political question: does this absolutely need to get done before the midterm elections?

“I think it is critical to take action this year, not because of the midterms, but for America’s security and America’s economy,” Kerry said.

He also said, as many have, that legislation is far better than the regulation route the EPA would take. Investment in clean energy, putting America in that marketplace, is a major reason, as is the role that coal currently plays in our energy portfolio.

“If coal is going to be part of our future it is only going to happen if it is part of this structure where we provide huge assistance for clean coal technology.”

Yet, despite the positive momentum – confidence in Kerry’s eyes – that climate legislation will be a reality in the coming months, questions still remain about whether there will be so many concessions to the coal and oil industries that it may lose support. Kerry said himself that there are places he has ventured away from his comfort zone, but the positives far outweigh the negatives.

“I’m moving into a zone of discomfort on some issues,” said Kerry. “We all are, but we’re finding that we’re not violating some fundamental, basic, die-hard principle that is worth letting this get shattered because of the good that’s coming with it.”

The story also provided an abbreviated list of provisions in the bill:

• The measure will put a price on carbon emissions but not through a cap-and-trade system, which would impose specific limits on harmful emissions and allow businesses to sell or trade carbon credits to meet them.

• It aims to cut U.S. dependency on foreign oil by 50 percent over the course of the legislation, a time span that Kerry declined to reveal.

• It will include a host of refunds to taxpayers to prevent spikes on energy costs for consumers.

• And it will include “huge assistance” for coal and other industries that the authors hope will help frame the measure as a jobs bill that could boost and sustain an economic recovery.

The bill will be unveiled next Monday, April 26th, and Kerry said that, at that point, it will be in the hands of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to chart a course to the passage.

The Green Divide is just one of the climate-focused news efforts this week, as the Climate Desk also kicks off today, a partnership of several groups to provide more comprehensive news coverage.

Senators Joe Lieberman and Lindsey Graham are working to create climate legislation.

As details begin to trickle out about a new version of comprehensive clean energy and climate legislation, the contents of the bill are starting to become more and more clear.

Yesterday, the trio of Senators, John Kerry, Lindsey Graham and Joe Lieberman met with several representatives of the affected industries to continue their process of building support.

According to several sources in the meeting room, the bill calls for greenhouse gas curbs across multiple economic sectors, with a 2020 target of reducing emissions by 17 percent below 2005 levels and an 80 percent limit at midcentury. Power plant emissions would be regulated in 2012, with other major industrial sources being phased in starting in 2016.

Along the lines, the bill would also pre-empt the EPA’s authority to regulate greenhouse gases, something it has been planning to do after the endangerment finding last year. There are also provisions that would make this cap a national one, giving true certainty to the market.

Overall, the bill will include eight titles: Refining, America’s Farmers, Consumer Refunds, Clean Energy Innovation, Coal, Natural Gas, Nuclear and Energy Independence. And it will set up new nationwide standards for energy efficiency and renewable energy, as well as ideas on carbon market regulation crafted by Sens. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine).

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It is still expected that some sort of draft summary will be available to other senators next week, even though Sen. Kerry would not confirm that.

According to the National Wildlife Federation, the support picked up in the states as well:

In South Carolina, Sen. Graham’s efforts earned support from two key constituencies. As Grist reports, the Christian Coalition and a veterans group are backing efforts to pass clean energy & climate legislation.

Support for clean energy and climate legislation is diverse and strong. Now, as we move closer to having a Senate bill, more details will become known and the true support in the Senate will be tested.