"Close Win Predicted For Cap-and-Trade Bill"

"The House could vote today on a measure to cap U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, with Democratic leaders predicting a tight victory for a behemoth bill that has grown more complex with each compromise.

The heart of the bill, which now runs to 1,201 pages, is a plan to reduce emissions to 17 percent below 2005 levels by 2020. To do that, it would create a cap-and-trade system, in which polluters would be required to accrue buyable, sellable credits for all the greenhouse gases they produce.

But the bill also contains a system of caveats, safety valves and rule changes meant to satisfy unhappy Democrats. The result is legislation that could transform the U.S. energy industry -- and allow both Wall Street and the Corn Belt to build a side business in carbon."

Paul Kane, Ben Pershing, and David A. Fahrenthold report for the Washington Post June 26, 2009. 

See Also:

"Vote Set on House Climate Bill" (Washington Post)

Major Provisions of Bill (AP)

Farm-State Deal Pares Biomass Restrictions (Greenwire)

Column: "For the Farm Lobby, Too Much Is Never Enough" (Washington Post)

Dems, Obama Lobby Last Fence-Sitters (ClimateWire)

Handful of Dems Hold Key (AP)

Obama Pushes for 'Historic' Energy Bill (Bloomberg)

Gore Not Coming (Politico)

Obama Pitches Bill as Job Creator (Washington Post)

Dems Scramble for Votes (Politico)

Pelosi Tested (San Francisco Chronicle)