Hoosier Senators Feeling Heat, May Be Hard Sell on Climate

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http://www.nytimes.com/cwire/2009/08/11/11climatewire-hoosier-senators-feeling-heat-may-be-hard-se-92096.html

August 11, 2009

Hoosier Senators Feeling Heat, May Be Hard Sell on Climate

By CHRISTA MARSHALL of ClimateWire

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In interviews last week, Republican Sen. Richard Lugar (Ind.) and his Democratic colleague Evan Bayh (Ind.) expressed serious concerns about a mandatory cap on greenhouse gases, with unease about China, the economy and state utilities prevalent in their minds. Both did not rule out eventually voting for a bill, but each voiced the need for changes in global warming legislation that passed the House 219-212 in June.

"I would have voted against the House bill if I had been in that chamber that day. That doesn't condemn whatever we're going to do in the Senate. But it does indicate that I'm not wildly enthusiastic with what the House came up with," said Lugar, who assumed office in 1977 and is known for his foreign policy expertise, including efforts to reduce nuclear warheads.

He said too many compromises were made on the House side, leaving little certainty that the measure would do anything to control warming temperatures. Meanwhile, the senator received 8,000 letters in July from his constituents slamming climate legislation. In the same time frame, some 56 supporters contacted his office.

"That's not a scientific poll, but that's the sentiment in my state, and that's a fairly large number of people on a subject that isn't even on the Senate floor yet," Lugar said. The Senate is not expected to release its version of climate legislation until September.

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