Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.), chairman of the panel’s Energy and Power subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, agreed to schedule a hearing next Tuesday on two new studies that link climate change to severe weather at the request of Democrats.
Full committee ranking Democrat Henry Waxman (Calif.) and Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.), who chairs the subcommittee, along with eight other Democrats, sent a letter to Whitfield Tuesday requesting a hearing on climate science, as the Republicans on the committee are moving legislation forward that would permanently block the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating greenhouse gas emissions.
Whitfield reluctantly agreed to hold the hearing Tuesday after Waxman criticized Republicans for not allowing more testimony from scientists at yesterday’s hearing, which boasted a witness list dominated by industry groups, while Republicans on the panel expressed frustration that Whitfield agreed to hold the hearing at the Democrats’ request.
