GOP Axes House Climate Panel

The climate change panel Nancy Pelosi set up as one of her first acts as House speaker has held its last meeting, House Republicans say. The House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming—which aimed to highlight issues relating to climate change and clean energy—will be folded into another committee, CBS reports.

Incoming House Speaker John Boehner says the committee is unnecessary and axing it will reduce government waste. "We believe the Science Committee is more than capable of handling this issue, and in the process we'll save several million dollars," he told reporters. Republican Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner, who would have chaired the panel in the new Congress, argued that it had proved to be an important forum for bipartisan debate.
(More House Republicans stories.)