In the House, It's Peterson vs. Climate Bill

By STEPHEN POWER
WSJ

WASHINGTON -- The fate of the leading proposal to curb U.S. greenhouse-gas emissions is in the hands of Rep. Collin Peterson, a Marlboro-smoking free spirit who scoffs at warnings about climate change and says the Environmental Protection Agency is "in bed with" corporations opposed to the ethanol industry.

House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson (D., Minn.) says "something's going to have to change" in the climate bill for it to pass.

Mr. Peterson -- a Minnesota Democrat whose chairmanship of the House Agriculture Committee gives him sway over Farm Belt lawmakers -- has forced Democratic Party leaders to slow their drive to pass climate legislation and to consider amending it in ways that some environmentalists worry will lessen its effectiveness.

Mr. Peterson on Friday asked White House officials and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to intervene in negotiations between him and the climate bill's main sponsor, Rep. Henry Waxman (D., Calif.). "I'm getting tired of going around in circles," Mr. Peterson told reporters.

Mr. Waxman has said he is "very close" to an agreement with Mr. Peterson that would clear the way for a vote on the legislation. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D., Md.) said the House is unlikely to take up climate legislation this week.

(More here.)