US House Won't Act On Climate Change Bill Until Fall-Boucher

The U.S. House of Representatives is unlikely to act on any legislation that addresses climate change until the fall, House energy subcommittee chief Rick Boucher said Wednesday.

 

Boucher, D-Va., said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., assured him this week that a cap-and-trade proposal would not be part of energy legislation House lawmakers are seeking to consider by Independence Day.

"Climate change will not be part of the July 4 agenda," Boucher said at a climate change hearing.

Pelosi had asked committee chairmen to craft energy legislation by June in an effort to get a broad climate change and energy security policy package on the House floor by July 4. She since has "reconfirmed" that the House shouldn't rush the climate change legislation, Boucher said.

Earlier this week, House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman John Dingell, D-Mich. had said he was concerned that effective and comprehensive climate change policies couldn't be crafted by the end of June.

Pelosi and House committee chairmen plan to meet later Wednesday to discuss the details of the energy package they're planning to advance in June and July.

-By Maya Jackson Randall, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-4427; maya.jackson- randall@dowjones.com