Climate of Our Future

Climate Crisis Coalition

House Passes Bill Affirming Global Warming Exists.
By Richard Cowen, Reuters, June 27, 2007

The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday, aiming to put an end to the debate over whether global warming is actually occurring, passed legislation recognizing the ‘reality’ of climate change and providing money to work on the problem. By a vote of 272-155, the House approved an environmental funding bill for the fiscal year starting October 1 that would increase federal investments in basic research on climate change and establish a new commission to review scientific questions that need to be addressed. The White House has threatened a veto of the $27.6 billion bill because its overall spending would exceed President George W. Bush’s request by about $2 billion. The Senate has not yet debated the bill… By inserting a declaration in the bill that climate change is a ‘reality,’ the Democratic-controlled House was trying to move U.S. policy-makers beyond a debate, long stimulated by the Bush administration, over whether there was scientific proof that global warming really is occurring… The House-passed bill also would beef up funding for the Environmental Protection Agency by giving the agency over $8 billion next year, $887 million more than Bush sought, mainly for water cleanup and clean air programs.