Crs Report for Congress

Attention to environmental issues in the 110th Congress focused early andheavily on climate change - the state of the science, and whether (and, if so, how)to address greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Seventeen bills had been introducedto establish GHG emission caps as of June 2008, and hearings on climate changewere held by at least 10 committees. The Lieberman-Warner bill to establish a cap-and-trade system for GHG emissions (S. 2191) was reported by the SenateEnvironment and Public Works Committee, May 20, 2008. Senate debate began ona modified version of the bill (S. 3036) June 2 but ended June 6, as the Senate failedto muster sufficient votes to invoke cloture.