WASHINGTON, June 2 (UPI) -- President George Bush Monday criticized sweeping climate change legislation being considered by the U.S. Senate, saying it would cost taxpayers $6 trillion.
"There's a much better way to address the environment than imposing these costs on job creators, which will ultimately have to be borne by American consumers," Bush said after a meeting with economists in Washington. "And I urge the Congress to be very careful about running up enormous costs for future generations of Americans."
The measure would reduce greenhouse gas emissions 66 percent below 2005 levels by the middle of this century.
If the bill were to pass the Senate in its current form, "the president would veto it," said White House spokeswoman Dana Perino during a news briefing. "But I think that by any measure, by any reporting, if you look at the fate of this bill, it's very unlikely to pass the Senate anyway."
Bush said he'd work with Congress on environmental legislation, "but the idea of a huge spending bill fueled by taxes -- increases -- isn't the right way to proceed."
