Congress begins tackling climate issues Tuesday

Tuesday, January 30th 2007, 7:13 am

By: News On 6

WASHINGTON (AP) _ Two private advocacy groups say they have found evidence of political pressure on government climate scientists at seven federal agencies in efforts to downplay the threat of global warming.

Their report was expected to be presented to a House committee Tuesday as the Democratic-controlled Congress steps up its examination of the Bush administration's climate policy.

At the same time, Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., was to hold an open meeting for her colleagues in the Senate to express their views on climate change, in advance of a broader set of hearings on the issue.

Among those to make comments were two presidential hopefuls _ Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Barack Obama, D-Ill. Both lawmakers favor mandatory reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, something opposed by President Bush, who argues such requirements would threaten economic growth.

The intense interest about climate change comes as some 500 climate scientists gather in Paris this week to put the final touches on a United Nations report on how warming, as a result of a growing concentration of heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere, is likely to affect sea levels.

They agree sea levels will rise, but not on how much. Whatever the report says when it comes out at week's end, it is likely to influence the climate debate in Congress.

In preparing for Tuesday's hearing by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., its chairman, asked the White House and the Environmental Protection Agency to provide more than three dozen documents related to their climate programs.

Among the documents sought were any on efforts by the White House Council on Environmental Quality "to manage or influence statements made by government scientists" to the media on climate change.

Among the witnesses to testify were an official of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and a former senior official of the office that coordinates the government's climate programs. That former official, Rick Piltz, quit his job in 2005, charging that scientists' climate documents were being edited by political appointees to tone them down.

The Union of Concerned Scientists, a private advocacy group, and the Government Accountability Project, a legal-assistance group that represents whistle-blowers, said Monday they would present the House oversight committee "new evidence of suppression and manipulation of climate science."

The groups said their findings covered seven federal agencies and included information about "firsthand experiences" by government climate scientists and workers.

Waxman was said to be particularly interested in reports of activities involving climate science at the White House Council on Environmental Quality, NASA and at the EPA.

Allegations of political pressure have been at the center of a controversy involving James Hansen, director of the Goddard Institute for Space Studies and one of the country's top experts on climate change. Hansen has accused NASA of trying to keep him from speaking publicly about global warming.

Since Democrats took control of Congress this month, there has been a rush to introduce climate legislation.

Boxer has offered the most aggressive bill, one that is touted as reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent by mid-century.

Obama and McCain are sponsoring a bill along with Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., that would cut emissions by two-thirds by 2050. Another bill, offered by Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., would halt the growth of carbon emissions by 2030 and then is expected to lead to reductions.

All three would require mandatory caps on greenhouse gas releases from power plants, cars and other sources. They also would have various forms of an emissions trading system to reduce the economic cost.

In the House, Speaker Nancy Pelosi wants to create a new select-committee to hold hearings and recommend actions on climate change. That proposal has been met with resistance from chairmen of committees with jurisdiction over various aspects of the matter, but nevertheless has indicated the new importance the issue has taken in Congress.

Bush in his recent State of the Union address 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.