Some opponents say laws restricting campaign contributions violates the right of free speech. Senator Chuck Hagel said the McCain-Feingold measure is too restrictive. Environmentalists, Democrats, and some Republicans have reacted with dismay. It is a disturbing indication that this president has a political tin ear on environmental issues. Bush wrote a letter Tuesday to four Republican senators saying he would not force the nation's power plants to cut back on carbon dioxide emissions.
Carbon dioxide is a key contributor to global warming.
Bush made a campaign promise to force emission reductions if elected. In his letter, Bush said that carbon dioxide is not consider a pollutant under the Clean Air Act. He also said that enforcing higher emission standards would mean higher electric rates. Just days earlier, Secretary of Energy Christie Todd Whitman told the press that she supported Bush's campaign promise to enforce stronger emission standards. She has not commented on Bush's latest change in policy.