Boxer, Feinstein support nationwide approach on global warming

January 30, 2007

By Erica Werner
Associated Press

WASHINGTON -- A strong federal law to combat global warming would be better than states passing their own measures as California did, Democratic Sens. Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein agreed Tuesday as Boxer chaired her first hearing on climate change.

When Feinstein introduced a global warming bill earlier this month, criticism from California officials led her to drop language that would have pre-empted the state's first-in-the nation law capping greenhouse gas emissions, she said.

The language "became very controversial," Feinstein said in testimony before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee that Boxer chairs. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's office and environmental groups voiced concerns about whether Feinstein's bill would reach the same strong standards set out in California law.

Feinstein believed it would, but state Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez and others disagreed.

Nevertheless, Feinstein said, "I think we need to grapple with a national standard so everybody plays with the same standards across the board."

"If we have a good system with good goals then one system is clearly the best," said Boxer, while making clear she would not support having strong state laws pre-empted by weaker federal measures.

Boxer called the hearing to get senators' views on climate change as the new Democrat-controlled Congress prepares to grapple with the issue.

A number of senators — including several 2008 presidential hopefuls — endorsed imposing mandatory caps on greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming.

Boxer and Feinstein both support that approach, though Feinstein has limited her bill to just the utility sector, while Boxer support deeper, economy-wide caps.

"The broad consensus of those who spoke is that the time for action is now," said Boxer. "I think that this is the moment where we will take a stand."

She faced opposition from several Republicans, including Sen. James Inhofe of Oklahoma, the former committee chairman, who has called global warming a hoax

There is "no convincing scientific evidence" that human activity is causing global warming, declared Inhofe. "We all know the Weather Channel would like to have people afraid all the time."

"I'll put you down as skeptical," replied Boxer.

Among senators testifying Tuesday were Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Barack Obama, D-Ill., who have introduced a bill with Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., calling for mandatory caps. The bill aims to return releases of heat-trapping gases to 1990 levels by 2020, and to 60 percent below 1990 levels in 2050.

That bill is supported by Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., a committee member.

Boxer has co-sponsored a different bill that seeks to return emissions to 1990 levels by 2020, and 80 percent below 1990 levels in 2050.

Those are among at least four competing bills in the Senate, and Tuesday's hearing was a first step toward reconciling them. In the House, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has announced creation of a special committee to study the issue, something that annoyed members of existing committees with jurisdiction. But Pelosi has said it's necessary to focus attention on the issue.

President Bush in his recent State of the Union speech acknowledged that climate change needs to be addressed, but he continues to oppose mandatory emission caps, arguing that industry through development of new technologies can deal with the problem at less cost.

California's law seeks to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020 but doesn't go past 2020. It allows for the creation of a cap-and-trade program, which Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger supports over the opposition of some Democrats in the Legislature.

Carbon dioxide, produced from the burning of fossil fuels, is the primary greenhouse gas. U.S. emissions of that gas have increased an average of about 1 percent year since 1990.

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