Comprehensive climate change legislation introduced by California Congressman Henry A. Waxman and Massachusetts Congressman Edward J. Markey is expected to come up for a vote on Friday, June 26.

Hailed by President Obama as a measure that "will finally 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 establish a cap-and-trade program to limit emissions of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases. The bill would also create incentives for low-carbon sources of fuel, including wind and solar energy and create a green-collar jobs.

NYLCV has been contacting members of the New York delegation to urge them to support his landmark legislation. The national League of Conservation Voters has also declared that it will not endorse any member of Congress who votes against it.

There still are some hurdles that could derail the bill, which faces almost unanimous opposition from House Republicans, the New York Times reports. However, a few major stumbling blocks appear to have been neutralized, at least on the basis of facts if not politics.

The Congressional Budget Office and the Environmental Protection Agency recently have published studies concluding that, if the legislation became law, the net additional cost to most consumers would range from a few hundred dollars per year - or could actually lead to a drop in costs.

Farm-state legislators also appear satisfied with a compromise that would empower the federal Department of Agriculture, not the EPA, to "regulate the use of farm and forestry products intended to offset carbon dioxide emissions from industrial sources," the newspaper said.