Senate Climate Bill to Bring Sea Change to Environmental Protection

LEGISLATIONSenate Climate Bill to Bring Sea Change to Environmental Protection 

WASHINGTON (Dec. 6, 2006) - The Congress Daily, San Francisco Chronicle, Forbes.com and other media are reporting that Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA), the incoming chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, considers her home state's actions to curb greenhouse gas emissions "the gold standard." While addressing reporters, however, she downplayed the chances that lawmakers in the 110th Congress would approve federal regulations that were as stringent as California's. 

The new California law imposes the first state-wide limit on greenhouse gases and seeks to cut emissions by 25 percent, dropping them to 1990 levels by 2020. "Real goals, real percentages," Boxer says. 

"We're going to for once, finally, make this committee an environment committee, not an anti-environment committee."
- Senator Barbara BoxerFederal climate is top priority Boxer says legislation on climate change is her Number One priority as committee chairwoman. While she promised no timeline for introducing a climate bill, she says she will hold a series of hearings, beginning in January, that will examine public sector solutions to global warming. Federal, state and local officials, as well as those representing business, environmental and religious groups, are all expected to testify at hearings.  She indicates that she plans to ask Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-CA) and two California Democratic state lawmakers - Assembly Speaker Fabian Nu