Obama praises Kerry-Lieberman climate bill

President Obama praised the climate bill unveiled by Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) today, calling it the first step to breaking U.S. dependence on foreign oil.

"This legislation will put America on the path to a clean energy economy that will create American jobs building the solar panels, wind blades and the car batteries of the future," Obama said.

Arguing that the need for climate legislation was "underscored by the immense tragedy in the Gulf of Mexico," Obama urged the Senate to join the lower chamber in adopting the climate bill before the year's end.

"I look forward to engaging with Senators from both sides of the aisle and ultimately passing a bill this year," Obama said.

Kerry and Lieberman unveiled the legislation this afternoon on Capitol Hill and insisted that bipartisan support is still possible despite the defection of Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.).

The White House, however, made a slight error in the statement, calling the Kerry-Lieberman bill the "American Clean Energy and Security Act." As Obama correctly noted elsewhere in the statement, that's the name of the House version. The Senate bill is called the "American Power Act."