Obama Hails Climate Bill As Democratic Leaders Set Vote for Friday

A flurry of last-minute deal making has cleared the way for a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives on historic legislation to cap carbon emissions, with President Obama urging lawmakers to pass what he called an “extraordinarily important” bill. The vote is expected to be close, with Republicans in near-unanimous opposition and Democrats from coal and farm states wavering. To secure the support of conservative Democrats, congressional leaders are making last-minute concessions in the 1,201-page bill, including extra emissions allowances for rural electric cooperatives and allowing the U.S. Department of Agriculture, rather than the Environmental Protection Agency, to administer farm and forestry projects designed to offset industrial emissions. Democratic leaders are predicting passage. Speaking at a press conference, President Obama said the legislation “will spark a clean energy transformation that will reduce our dependence on foreign oil and confront the carbon pollution that threatens our planet.” The bill would cap and set a price on carbon emissions, but opponents say it includes so many concessions to industrial and agricultural lobbies that it will be ineffectual.