WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama wants business leaders to push Congress to pass long-stalled climate legislation awaiting action in the Senate.
Obama made the plug during a meeting Friday with his Economic Recovery Advisory Board, which includes the heads of General Electric, Caterpillar and Oracle, along with labor leaders and economists.
He told the group the climate bill — which would cap global warming emissions — is good for business and that members of Congress need to hear that.
“Individual members of Congress may be worried about the implications, at least short term,” of voting for the legislation, and hearing from businesses would be reassuring, Obama said.
“The more business can be out front” the better, he said.
The House last year narrowly passed controversial legislation creating a system to cap global warming emissions and auction allowances to polluters. The cap-and-trade approach was slammed by Republicans and many business groups as a hidden energy tax and some House Democrats came to regret supporting the bill as it became clear the approach could not make it in the Senate.
Instead, a bill sponsored by Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., would apply different carbon controls to different sectors of the economy, without a broad cap-and-trade approach. It aims to cut emissions of pollution-causing greenhouse gases by 17 percent by 2020.
Obama said he expects to work on the legislation after spending several more weeks completing a financial regulation bill.
“This is one of these foundational priorities from my perspective that has to be done soon,” the president said of the climate bill.