WASHINGTON
President Obama pushed urgently yesterday for passage of legislation to confront global warming, billing it as a job-creating machine rather than the costly "job killer" Republicans denounced. He telephoned wavering Democrats on the eve of what could be a historic House vote.
Speaking in the Rose Garden at the White House, Obama said that Washington must not miss the opportunity to work on cleaning the air, creating new "green" energy jobs and moving the nation away from its reliance on fossil fuels such as oil, coal and natural gas.
The White House appeared concerned that momentum for the bill was slipping, although White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said that when it came time for a House showdown, "I'd bet on the president."
Democratic leaders scurried to line up enough votes to get the bill passed. They enlisted former Vice President Al Gore, the country's most prominent voice on the urgency of dealing with climate change, to make phone calls to wary legislators -- including some who believe that the House bill was too weak rather than too strong.
House Republicans for weeks have maintained a drumbeat against the bill, calling it a massive energy tax on every American and a "job killer" because it will force higher prices on electricity, gasoline and other energy sources as the economy moves from cheaper fossil fuels, or as companies and utilities are forced to buy pollution allowances.
Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., tried to counter that argument.
"This is going to be a close vote because of misinformation out there that there's somehow a contradiction between clean energy and economic growth," Obama said. Rather than emphasizing any impact on pollution or global warming, he called the House legislation "a jobs bill" that will lead to the creation of new industries and "finally make clean energy a profitable kind of energy."
"It will create millions of new jobs," Pelosi said at a Capitol Hill press conference.
By late yesterday, it was still unclear whether Pelosi, who has been courting moderate Republicans as well as fellow Democrats in the search for votes, has the 218 legislators needed to get the bill passed. It was widely expected that if she was not certain of having a majority, she would not proceed with a vote today.
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