Gore, Gingrich Face Off in Congress

It has the ring of the mid-nineties, doesn’t it? Al Gore and Newt Gingrich are facing off over a major climate and energy bill today before the House Energy and Environment Subcommittee. Al Gore called the bill "one of the most important pieces of legislation ever introduced in the Congress,” and compared it to the civil-rights legislation of the 1960s and the Marshall Plan of the 1940s. Gingrich, who was added to the lineup late yesterday at the request of Republicans, said "It is ridiculous to believe that we are going to eliminate 83 percent of carbon use with current technologies. … This is the strategy imposed in the bill and it is a fantasy. Nothing in this bill leads to the level of breakthrough that you need to reduce carbon not only here at home but also reduce carbon generated by China and India."