Editor's note: This is Rep. Diana DeGette's second dispatch from the United Nations climate summit being held in Copenhagen, Denmark. DeGette traveled to the talks as part of the official bipartisan Congressional delegation.

 By U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette

The U.S. Congressional delegation began the final day of the Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen at a working breakfast with high-tech executives from companies such as Google and Maytag. The executives were extremely excited about the new business and green job opportunities presented by a new alternative energy and smart grid system.

We then traveled to the Bella Center and visited the NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) exhibit of an enormous globe that represented the global impact of climate change. The picture attached shows me with the chief software engineer and the individual who designed the stunning model. The globe will be coming to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science in February.

The Congressional delegation then watched speeches by the heads of state of China and Brazil. Brazil's Prime Minister Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva spoke passionately from the heart about his country's commitment to addressing climate change. His presentation was well received by the delegates. President Obama then spoke about the actions his administration has taken to reduce global warming pollution and our commitment to reaching a global deal.

After the speeches, we met with members of the European Parliament to discuss each of our efforts on climate change. The Ministers were impressed to hear of the efforts taken by the U.S. House of Representatives with the Waxman/Markey deal and of our steadfast resolve to enter into a worldwide agreement.

For many of us, we began our final day with concerns that the talks were not moving fast enough. However, after President Obama met with many of the world's leaders, there was a sense that the talks were getting back on track. Having the U.S. delegation, led by President Obama, Secretary of State Clinton, Speaker Pelosi, and the House members, attend this Conference demonstrated a strong commitment by the United States to resolving global climate change. It also represented a sea-change after years of inaction by the U.S. 

At the time of this writing, the final agreement has not yet been approved. It is almost certain that the final binding deal will not be reached in Copenhagen, but we have every reason to believe that we are moving in the right direction.

Editor's Note: U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Denver, will be blogging for the Denver Post during her visit to Copenhagen, Denmark, this week as part of the official bipartisan House delegation attending the United Nations Climate Change Conference. This is her first dispatch from the trip:

By U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette

Our bipartisan House Congressional delegation arrived in Copenhagen this morning on the heels of Secretary of State Clinton's announcement that the U.S. will contribute to an international fund of $100 billion a year by the end of the next decade to assist developing countries' efforts to reduce greenhouse gasses.  The announcement and arrival of the 20-member bipartisan Congressional delegation seemed to kick start discussions of at least assembling a framework of agreed-upon objectives for ratification early in 2010.

This afternoon, we met with a delegation from India and told them that no agreement can occur without transparency in reporting progress by the developing world.  This is one of the outstanding sticking points of the conference.  In my view, without the ability to verify, what good is an agreement?

The five Congresswomen in the delegation, including Speaker Pelosi, participated in a fascinating roundtable on the role of women in climate change.  Speakers included the leader of the Philippine Senate, a World Bank official, and the Prime Minister of Finland.  They all made the point that women are the first to experience the effects of climate change, because they bear the brunt of hurricanes, mudslides and other disasters.  They can also be effective in reversing the effects, if they have the resources.  The World Bank officer spoke about when she went to a small village and the women were all eager to know how they could get pollution credits!

We finished the evening at the new American Ambassador's residence at a reception with the Danish Parliament.  The surprise guest was former Vice President Al Gore, who is treated like a rock star here.  He told me he hopes President Obama can at least help flesh out some basic agreements during his brief time here tomorrow.

What's up tomorrow: meetings with delegations from the EU and Asia and speeches by world leaders, including President Obama.

Only days after introducing a bill to move up the effective date of legislation meant to protect credit card users, U.S. Sen. Mark Udall (D- Colo.) got big-footed by senate heavyweight Chris Dodd, the Democrat from Connecticut. Dodd announced that he will introduce a bill that goes one better than Udall's proposal to stop credit card companies from arbitrary increases in interest rates after Dec. 1:  Dodd's bill would stop those increases immediately. Dodd's bill effectively makes Udall's irrelevant, since Dodd is both far senior to Udall and is the chairman of the Banking Committee, which has jurisdiction over the issue.

For five days, Udall looked as if he had snagged a legislative plum, carrying the companion bill to legislation meant to stop credit card companies from going around the intention of the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure Act (CARD). That law - passed earlier this year but which does not go into effect until Feb. 2010 -- prohibits card companies from arbitrarily hiking interest rates on existing balances, but some card companies had started hiking rates before the law went into effect. Udall's bill would have fixed that.

But in an institution where seniority is meant to be respected, it's clear that Dodd was not going to let an issue so appealing to voters slip away to a freshman who doesn't face voters for another five years. Udall has a long history with consumer credit card rights, but so does Dodd, who has been in the Senate nearly 30 years. By introducing his own bill, Dodd effectively grabs the mantel of consumer protector from his junior colleague, while at the same time reminding Udall to watch where he steps.

Udall put the best face on the situation. He signed up as an original co-sponsor of Dodd's bill, and his staff sent out a release touting "the second time in a week" that the Colorado freshman has gone to bat for credit card holders. "In this classic story of David vs. Goliath, I'm happy to take on Goliath," Udall said in a statement released after news of Dodd's bill broke.  Now it's Dodd who will more likely be able to claim credit for slaying Goliath, but at least Udall can say he held the slingshot.

Auto dealers won't be covered under a new consumer regulatory agency after a vote in the House Financial Services Committee exempting them, despite the major role they play in financing car loans.

Among those supporting the Republican amendment that passed this morning by a vote of 47-21 was Rep. Ed Perlmutter, D-Golden, whose suburban Denver district is populated with some of the metro area's largest dealerships. The amendment had been blasted by consumer advocates, who claim that dealers are both responsible for originating the majority of new car loans and regularly bilk customers by offering them higher interest loans than their credit histories would otherwise allow.

The scam typically goes something like this, according to a letter sent to the Financial Services Committee and signed by 38 consumer organizations: Dealers offer financing to their customers to buy new cars, often selling those loans almost immediately to third-party auto finance companies. Those dealers profit on the loans through fees that are partly based on the interest rate. The higher the interest rate, the higher the fees. "Typically, F(inance) & I(nsurance) managers tell car buyers they shopped around and found them the best interest rates they could get, when they actually qualified for lower rates," the letter said. It's exactly the kind of scam that the new agency is supposed to prevent, but Thursday's vote means its unlikely to change anytime soon, according to critics.

Otherwise a strong advocate for the new consumer agency, Perlmutter said Thursday the exemption was justified because dealers will still be subject to existing state and federal regulations. "It is important to enact responsible regulatory reforms that do not have unintended consequences of drying up the availability of affordable and stable credit to consumers," he said.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar today asked the department's Inspector General to investigate addenda to shale leases that were issued by the Bush administration on Jan. 15.

In a letter to inspector Mar Kendall, Salazar said he had "serious concerns" abbout the leases, noting that they "conveyed lucrative benefits to the leaseholder to the exlusion of others" and were issued "without any opportunity for public review or comment."

In a conference call with reporters, Salazar also said he would be rforming the nation's shale program and opening up additional opportunities for companies to perform shale research, development and demonstration.

By Michael Riley

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Sen. Mark Udall (D – Colo.) sent a letter today to Barack Obama asking him to push for a quick response from the military’s highest commander on reversing the long-standing ban on gays in the military.

It’s hardly a bold move. Udall is asking Obama to ask Admiral Michael Mullen to hurry and get back with an opinion on reversing the ban. Still, it is consistent with Udall’s earlier advocacy on the issue and a sign he wants to continue to push the issue in his new job as senator. (As a member of the House of Representatives, Udall twice co-sponsored a bill requiring repeal of the current policy, known as Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.)

Democrats are getting increasingly impatient with Obama’s slow pace on his promise to reverse the ban, but few seem willing to openly confront the president over the issue. Even Rep. Jared Polis (D-Boulder), who is openly gay and who has brought up the issue privately with Obama, has yet to publically call the president out. Click here to read Udall's letter.

Rep. Jared Polis, D-Boulder, and his partner Marlon Reis, share their views of being a congressional odd couple in a piece posted on CNN.com.

In it, Polis says, "while notable, the gender of my spouse has little to do with the overall experience of the congressional life and our "freshman year."

For his part, Reis describes how life has been for the couple since arriving in Washington, D.C., 10 months ago and describes how he wears his "Congressional Spouse" lapel pin proudly.

Of note, Polis is one of the co-sponsors of the Respect of Marriage Act, which would repeal the 13-year-old federal law defining marriage as between a man and a woman.

Politico reports this morning that several Democratic Senators have decided to return donations from New York financier Hassan Nemazee, who was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of trying to defraud Citibank of $74 million.

The article speculates that more returned donations are surely to follow.

A look at FEC records shows tha Nemazee donated $1,000 to the campaign for Democrat Ken Salazar in 2004 and $1,000 to then-Rep. Mark Udall's Senate campaign in 2007.

We'll update if and when we hear from those lawmakers.

Give Jared Polis credit: He was game for anything on last night's appearance on Stephen Colbert's "To Know a District."

As the accompanying photo attests, the freshman congressman capped the interview with a beer bong. Earlier, he discussed whether he is indeed the Jared of Subway Sandwich fame, his name change ("Schutz for brains") and his sexuality (Polis does not have a feathery cap).

Polis' appearance stands in Mark-ed, pun intended, contrast to the last appearance by a Rep. from Colorado's Second Congressional District. That would be Mark Udall's wooden appearance in 2005.

By Michael Riley, The Denver Post

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama will be stopping in Grand Junction next week as part of a four-state Western tour that includes stops at two national parks.

Obama hits the Grand Junction area on Saturday, Aug. 15, sandwiched between stops in Bozeman, Mont., and Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, before heading to the Grand Canyon and Phoenix, Ariz.

White House aides say the trip — which begins next Friday — is centered around a mix of themes and will include several public events.

The trip is occurring on a fee-free weekend, when the Park Service doesn’t charge the public to enter national parks.

The trip “is to highlight our national park system, to highlight the weekend” when millions of Americans will visit parks across the country, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said, announcing the trip at a briefing today.

Not all the stops are near national parks, and some events are expected to hit themes that the White House is keen on highlighting.

Obama will hold a town hall event in Grand Junction, according to state Democrats, possibly talking about the economy, health care or both.

Grand Junction has a unique non-profit health care delivery system that has become a model for national reformers looking for ways to bring down over-all costs. Earlier this summer, Rep. John Salazar, the Manassa Democrat who represents Grand Junction, sent Obama a letter inviting him to have a look at health care delivery there.

“I haven’t talked to him personally, but I do imagine it will be on health care,” Salazar said.

Other Democratic leaders said the topic was likely to be focused on the economy more generally.

It’s a theme Republicans said they’d be happy to talk to the President about.

“I would hope that President Obama and his sidekick Gov. (Bill) Ritter would meet with energy workers who have been put out of jobs due to the policies at both the federal and state level,” said GOP state chair Dick Wadhams.

According to the Associated Press, Obama is also scheduled to address the convention of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, being held in Phoenix. It’s a summertime tradition for presidents.

Obama will return to the White House at the end of the weekend Monday.

First Lady Michelle Obama and the couple’s two daughters, who are on school vacation, will accompany the President.

The visit will be Obama's second to Grand Junction. During last year's campaign, he spoke to a crowd of about 5,800 people.

It will be his second visit to Colorado as President. In February, Obama signed the stimulus bill at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.