Peterson has warned that the bill put together by Waxman and Energy and Environment subcommittee Chairman Edward Markey (D-Mass.) will fail if agriculture-related provisions aren’t altered, and he’s said he has as many as 45 votes on his side. That number of Democratic defections would certainly doom the prospects of passing the bill in the House.

Peterson threatened to have enough votes to kill the bill if he didn’t get satisfaction, while Rangel said he wanted to focus on healthcare first, and leave the climate change bill for a later time.

Pelosi stepped in on June 3, demanding all chairmen square their business by June 19. But Peterson said that deadline is looking tough to meet.

And while the House seems stuck, momentum appears to be building in the Senate to follow the House’s lead of enacting as big a bill as possible.

Following Majority Leader Harry Reid’s (D-Nev.) recent comments that “If [the House] can do it, we can do it,” a group of 25 senators, [...]