Capitol Hill Meltdown

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Jay Gilbo, 21, may have the hottest job on Capitol Hill. Each workday he puts on two suits, one over the other, both made of materials that seal out dust but trap heat. Then he wraps his wrists and ankles, pulls a rubber respirator over his head and climbs more than 200 ft. into the narrow space between the Capitol's inner and outer domes. Gilbo, who lives in Georgetown, Mass., is part of a 10-man crew removing poisonous lead paint from cast-iron walls in temperatures that regularly soar above 100[degrees]F. "It's a pretty hostile environment," says Gilbo, who says he sweats off 4 lbs. during every 12-hour shift.

Millions of Americans last week knew the feeling; sauna-like conditions have gripped much of the country, from the East Coast to the Rockies. The sweltering heat has left at least 100 people dead since mid-July, mostly in the Midwest. Drought emergencies were declared in scores of counties, from Montana to Maryland. Roads buckled under a blazing sun. Crops shriveled after weeks without rain. And with air conditioners and fans at full tilt, utilities strained to meet electrical demand.

But for all the heat Gilbo and his fellow citizens were experiencing, the legislators working under those sizzling domes seemed remarkably cool--not just about the weather outside but also about what it might portend. While a single heat wave doesn't make a worldwide meltdown (see following story), a great many scientists believe that by continuing to pump greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, humans are forcing drastic climate changes. Yet Congress seems determinedly indifferent. As the lawmakers prepare for their summer adjournment, legislative efforts to slow that warming by reducing greenhouse emissions have all but ground to a halt. Withering too, like so many cornstalks, are other major pro-environmental bills: increased funding for research on energy sources other than fossil fuels; incentives to encourage industries to cut emissions; efforts to clean up power plants; and measures to raise fuel-efficiency standards for gas-slurping SUVs, vans and light trucks. Just about the only measure likely to pass is, of all things, an order requiring the Environmental Protection Agency to give equal time to dissenting views whenever it conducts educational programs on climate. Congress, says Environmental Defense Fund lobbyist Steve Cochran, has become "completely dysfunctional" on global warming.

It is a case of dysfunction that has drawn scant public attention. Instead of putting together a large single proposal, Congress has been nibbling at the global-warming issue piecemeal, with opponents throwing up obstacles at almost every turn in the form of directives and riders tacked on to major spending bills so they slip through the legislative process virtually unnoticed. This tactic has environmentalists, no slouches at publicity themselves, crying foul. "A lot of these [proposals] could never be moved in the light of day," says Greg Wetstone, a congressional watchdog for the Natural Resources Defense Council.