Morning News Roundup on Kerry-Boxer Bill: Day Two

The New York Times covered yesterday's hearings as part of a larger story entitled "White House Steps up Climate Efforts." They boiled the partisan battle down to this:

Republicans on the committee dismissed the bill as an overly complex one that will harm the economy, kill jobs and favor some parts of the country over others. Democrats generally defended it as a market-based approach to a serious environmental problem that will create jobs by spurring energy innovation.

The Washington Post ran several stories, including this article, arguing that yesterday's hearings set the stage for a major fight over the impact of cap and trade on the economy, this article, pointing out that federal tax incentives and new loan guarantees for nuclear were put in the bill to "woo" wavering Senators, and this column by Dana Milbank describing Senator Inhofe as ever-more isolated in his resistance to the reality of global warming. (The AP echoes the Post's story line that we should expect a debate ahead about the impact of the bill on the economy, here.)

Huffington Post doesn't mince words in its coverage of the hearings, saying that "If Tuesday was any indication, the Senate's climate-change bill has a ways to go before it gets weak enough to garner the 60 votes it needs for passage."

McClatchy Newspapers focuses a bit more on the panelists' presentations, here. The Dallas Morning News focuses on the impact on utilities and refineries, here.