With the House about to tackle a controversial climate change bill, a hurried reporter at The Hill newspaper e-mailed Ileana Ros-Lehtinen's office, seeking her position on the bill.
She didn't get the answer. But Ros-Lehtinen's South Florida press contacts did.
"This is ignore, right?" her press spokesman Alex Cruz wrote in an e-mail to fellow staffers that was mistakenly sent along to Ros-Lehtinen's South Florida press list. It was followed minutes later by another e-mail, this one titled "Sorry Folks!"
Ros-Lehtinen in May was one of six moderate Republicans who wrote to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, suggesting ways to improve a bill that many Republicans oppose. Enviros, including the Florida Wildlife Federation, are in DC this week lobbying members to support the legislation they say is particularly relevant to South Florida.
Ros-Lehtinen's office says it was preparing a response before she heard about "oops" e-mail. In it, she says she's still "studying the bill." Full release after the jump.
"Global climate change is a serious issue that merits full debate in Congress. Our Foreign Affairs Committee has waived our portions of the bill so this means that Committee members will not have an opportunity to discuss the impact of this important legislation. The same has happened in other pertinent Committees.
"This is a missed opportunity to fully debate and amend the bill. The climate change bill is being rushed through the House and Members are not being allowed to discuss, debate and amend the bill in the manner that used to be customary.
"I am still studying the bill because I know that climate change is impacting every part of our planet, including Florida’s precious coral reefs, yet the bill appears to also have a hefty price tag. In these difficult economic times, many American families will see their bills go up.”
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