Articles from OfficialWire

Top Obama officials joined Senate environment committee leaders to rev up enthusiasm for a major climate bill but faced opposition from Republicans and some prominent Democratic senators as well. Montana Sen. Max Baucus, the second ranking Democrat on the committee as well as chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, was among those who quickly voiced reservations during the first day of climate legislation hearings by the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. Baucus said he had concerns with the overall direction of the bill and some "serious reservations" about its steep metrics for cutting carbon gas emissions. "Montana, with our resource-based, agriculture and tourism economies cannot afford the unmitigated impacts of climate change," Baucus said. "But we also cannot afford the unmitigated effects of climate change legislation." The bill, sponsored by the committee chairwoman Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., would mandate a ... (Read Full Article)