Voinovich, an Ohio Republican, acknowledged the desire to get a law passed quickly, but said, "The abbreviated process I don't believe is conducive to good public policy."

Sen. Barbara Boxer, a California Democrat who chairs the committee, noted that the committee has held 20 hearings on climate change, including some provisions included in America's Climate Security Act, the bill under consideration.

"We are not rushing this through, we are doing this in the right way," Boxer said at the first of two hearings to consider the bill. The second is set for next Tuesday.

The measure, sponsored by Virginia Republican Sen. John Warner and Connecticut independent Sen. Joe Lieberman, is seen as a bipartisan victory simply for moving beyond a small subcommittee and getting to discussion in a full committee.

Boxer has indicated she wants the full committee to approve the measure by the end of the year. That would mesh with a global conference on climate change in Bali, Indonesia.

Voinovich made note of this timetable: "I know that Bali is coming up in December and I know that some people would like go with maybe a scalp in their hand (to show) we're doing something but ... this is too important to rush it down the road."

Action would still be needed in the full Senate and House of Representatives before it could be sent to President George W. Bush for his consideration. Bush has opposed mandatory carbon caps, saying they would hurt the US economy.

Voinovich and fellow Republican senators Kit Bond of Missouri, David Vitter of Louisiana and Larry Craig of Idaho all took exception to the bill, as did the leading Republican committee member, James Inhofe of Oklahoma.

But Warner, the bill's Republican co-sponsor, sent a message to the committee that was read by Boxer, noting that the panel failed to take up an earlier climate change measure.