Environmental Leader

To rally support for cap-and-trade legislation and other climate bill aspects, President Obama met with more than 100 business executives at the White House Oct. 28.

So far, Obama has held three of these meetings with business leaders, reports the New York Times.

The meeting comes against a backdrop of the Senate’s three days of hearings on its version of the climate bill.

As the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works deliberates the climate bill, as sponsored by Democratic Senators John Kerry of Massachusetts and Barbara Boxer of California, Republicans are dismissing the legislation as a job-killer that favors some parts of the country over others.

Even Sen. Max Baucus, a Democrat from Montana, said he has “serious reservations” about the bill. He is asking Democrats to weaken the measure, including the 2020 target to reduce emissions by 20 percent, to ensure passage, according to the New York Times.

Baucus also wants to pre-empt the authority of the Environmental Protection Agency from adding new greenhouse gas regulations on industry.