Rep. Collin Peterson , a Democrat and chairman of the House Agriculture Committee , urged support for the bill after he won a number of concessions that he said would benefit agriculture and ease the impact of higher energy costs on people living in rural parts of the U.S. The House bill , covering more than 1,100 pages , would require a 17 percent reduction of greenhouse gases -- mainly carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels such as coal -- by 2020 from 2005 levels and about an 80 percent reduction by mid-century .