At a meeting in Detroit on Monday May 14, Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, John Dingell (D-MI), rejected suggestions to advance a carbon tax, and said he would continue to work from the political center and, instead, craft an economy-wide, cap-and-trade proposal to curb global warming.
The Chairman also described climate change as the "most singularly difficult task I've confronted in all my years in Congress." According to press accounts from the hometown meeting, he then identified interest groups on both sides of the debate that he said are working to stop progress.
"I'm just a simple Polish lawyer from Detroit who is trying to craft a climate change bill in a bipartisan manner that will pass the House, pass the Senate and be signed into law by the president," Dingell said. He said he does not yet have a detailed bill, but he did indicate his bill would protect domestic coal supplies and encourage broad international participation.