Okay, then. Forget my post yesterday on how Barbara Boxer was planning to get a climate bill out of the Environment and Public Works committee before the August recess. According to Reuters, Boxer is now postponing completion until September—and says Congress may not be able to pass a big climate and energy bill in time for December's international climate summit in Copenhagen.
So what happened? Over at Streetsblog, Elana Schor notes that Boxer has her hands full dealing with a massive shortfall in the highway trust fund, which is expected to run out in mid-August. Trouble is, Americans have been driving less, which has meant less gas-tax revenue, which means Congress now needs to scrounge up some $20 billion to keep state road projects running through 2010.
--Bradford Plumer