Congress OKs sweeping climate bill

By: shannond | June 27th, 2009 at 9:39am

"The House last night narrowly approved a landmark overhaul of US environmental policy, handing President Obama a big political victory with a vote to dramatically limit greenhouse gases and fundamentally alter how the nation produces energy in coming decades.

By a 219-to-212 vote, a deeply divided chamber agreed to a sweeping package meant to reduce carbon dioxide pollution that is blamed for global warming, encourage cleaner power sources such as wind and solar, and mandate conservation measures for electric utilities, buildings, and household appliances.

The intense fight over how aggressively to combat climate change now shifts to the Senate, where opponents promise to continue fighting legislation that they say will lead to higher energy prices and cost American jobs."

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