Obama presses business leaders to lobby for climate-change legislation

President Barack Obama on Friday urged major businesses to push for climate change legislation, and called it the next big item on the Senate agenda after Wall Street reform, according to a news report.

Obama raised the issue during a meeting of the administration’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board, the Associated Press reports.

Here’s AP:

President Barack Obama wants business leaders to push Congress to pass long-stalled climate legislation.

Obama made the plug during a meeting Friday with his Economic Recovery Advisory Board, which includes the heads of General Electric, Caterpillar and Oracle, along with labor leaders and economists.

He told the group that the climate bill — which would cap global warming emissions — is good for business.

Obama said that individual members of Congress may be worried about the short-term implications of voting for the bill and that hearing from businesses would be reassuring.

Energy legislation narrowly passed the House last year and some Democrats came to regret their support. It’s up next in the Senate, after financial reform, Obama said.

This post was updated at 5:22 p.m. on April 16.