Ways And Means, Agriculture Committees May Punt Climate Change Measure

Given a June 19 deadline for marking up the Waxman/Markey climate change bill by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, House Ways and Means Chairman Charles Rangel and House Agriculture Chairman Collin Peterson both suggest that their committees, which have jurisdiction over large parts of the proposed legislation, may skip full markups of the bill before it goes to the House floor. Pelosi wants climate change off her docket before health care reform is addressed, but these two chairmen complain they can't work on both bills at the same time. The complexities of carbon cap and trade have so split these two committees that neither chairman sees any early resolution. Ducking out may be the only way to keep the bill on Pelosi's aggressive schedule.