"Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), John Kerry (D-Mass.) and nine Senate supporters kicked off the autumn global warming debate today with a campaign-style rally releasing their comprehensive climate bill.

"We know clean energy is the ticket to strong, sustainable economic growth," Boxer, the chairwoman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, said at the Capitol Hill event, in front of a large American flag and three dozen or so military veterans, business leaders and environmentalists.

"Ultimately, this bill is about keeping Americans safe," added Kerry, the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee.

The Kerry-Boxer bill (pdf), the "Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act," comes in at 821 pages, starting with a mandate by 2020 to curb the nation's greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent from 2005 levels. It omits many details, leaving negotiations with Democrats and Republican moderates to fill in the blanks."

Darren Samuelsohn reports for Greenwire in the New York Times September 30, 2009. [2]