SENATE

SENATE

Climate bill unveiling possible next week

Sen. Joe Lieberman said Thursday he hoped to unveil long-delayed climate-change legislation next week, but noted that Sen. Lindsey Graham would probably not publicly join in.

“He’ll be there in spirit and substance, but probably not with us” on the podium at the anticipated event, Mr. Lieberman said.

The Connecticut independent, who will unveil the bill to fight global warming, also said that offshore oil drilling provisions of the bill are still being ironed out in the aftermath of a major Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

“We’re still talking about that,” Mr. Lieberman told reporters. The bill had aimed to help expand drilling off the coast of Mid-Atlantic states, but new safety questions have arisen.

On April 24, Mr. Graham, South Carolina Republican, said he was abandoning efforts with Mr. Lieberman and Sen. John Kerry, Massachusetts Democrat, to pass climate legislation this year after Democrats said they also would pursue an immigration-reform bill.

SENATE PRIMARY

Palin backs Fiorina in California race

Sarah Palin is endorsing former Hewlett-Packard executive Carly Fiorina in the GOP’s U.S. Senate primary in California.

The former vice presidential candidate says on her Facebook page that experience running a major corporation, like that of Mrs. Fiorina, is sorely lacking in Washington. She describes Mrs. Fiorina as a fiscal conservative who thinks that when government grows, the private sector shrinks under the burden of debt.

Mrs. Palin also attacked the Republican candidate leading in most polls, former congressman Tom Campbell. She says Mr. Campbell is too much like the incumbent, Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer.

The endorsement is also a blow for a third candidate in next month’s GOP primary, state Assemblyman Chuck DeVore, who is a favorite of “tea party” members in the state and had sought Mrs. Palin’s endorsement.

HOUSE

Lawmakers take up energy-efficiency bill

People who install new windows, heaters, refrigerators and other energy-efficient technology in their homes would be eligible for thousands of dollars in federal rebates under legislation the House is taking up.

The two-year, $6 billion program is being referred to as “Cash for Caulkers,” following on the popular 2009 “Cash for Clunkers” program that rewarded people for trading in vehicles for more fuel-efficient models.

Democratic supporters say the bill, which has strong White House backing, has the triple benefit of creating thousands of jobs in the manufacturing sector, substantially lowering home energy costs and reducing greenhouse emissions.

But some Republicans have expressed concerns about the government’s ability to run such a program and the costs of another jobs-promotion measure at a time of mounting federal debts.

LABOR

New jobless claims drop for 3rd week

First-time claims for unemployment benefits dropped last week for the third straight time, a sign the job market is slowly recovering.

The Labor Department says initial claims for unemployment insurance fell by 7,000 to a seasonally adjusted 444,000. That’s above economists’ forecasts of 440,000.

Layoffs have dropped back to pre-recession levels, and employers have slowly resumed hiring as the economy recovers from the worst recession since the 1930s.

SENATE

Schumer asks Arizona to hold off on law

A prominent Senate Democrat is asking Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer to put off her state’s controversial new immigration law for a year. The idea is to hold off until Congress can try to pass broad new federal policies that would put millions of illegal immigrants on a path to citizenship.

New York Sen. Charles E. Schumer is asking the Republican governor to delay the start of the law that would make it a state crime to be in the U.S. illegally and direct police to question people about their immigration status if they are stopped for probable cause on other grounds.

As a candidate, President Obama promised to reform immigration policy. But last week he said what lawmakers of both parties have acknowledged: Such a bill is highly unlikely to pass this election year.

NHTSA

Highway safety agency wants more power

The government’s highway safety agency is supporting a plan in Congress to give it more power to conduct auto recalls.

Following the massive Toyota recalls, the head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration planned to tell a House hearing Thursday that the agency supports draft legislation that would increase its powers. It would allow the government to order an immediate safety recall if it finds an “imminent hazard of death or serious injury.”

David Strickland said in prepared testimony that the changes would significantly increase the agency’s leverage in dealing with car companies.

From wire dispatches and staff reports