New House Pannel to Study Global Warming

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House Democrats, are purposing on making climate change a preeminent issue, created a special panel on Thursday to study and offer recommendations on how to deal with the growing global warming issue. "Global warming may be the greatest challenge of our time, setting at risk our economy, environment and national security," Pelosi, D-Calif., said in a statement, With the new committee, "the House is giving these issues the high visibility they deserve." Since assuming power in January, Democrats in congress have held numerous hearings on global warming, in sharp contrast to Republicans who assigned the issue to a lower priority when they were in the majority. Former Vice President Al Gore, who lectures on the consequences of global warming in a documentary that won an Academy Award, is to testify before Dingell's committee later this month.

The committee, consisting of nine Democrats and six Republicans, will be chaired by Rep. Edward Markey, a Democrat from Massachusetts. It will hold hearings and recommend legislation on global warming, but, in a concession to existing committees, will not write legislation and will exist for only two years.