Underscoring the growing intensity of the message war over climate change, Senate environment committee chairman Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) said in a joint statement this afternoon that they would delay the unveiling of their carbon-emissions legislation until late September:

Because of Senator Kennedy’s recent passing, Senator Kerry’s August hip
surgery, and the intensive work on health care legislation, particularly
on the Finance Committee where Sen. Kerry serves, Majority Leader Reid
has agreed to provide some additional time to work on the final details
of our bill, and to reach out to colleagues and important stakeholders. We have told the Majority Leader that our goal is to introduce our bill later in September.

Today’s delay marks the second in two months for the climate bill, which was originally slated for release in early August. After Boxer said last month that the Senate version of the measure would emerge in early September, Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) set a deadline of September 28 for committees to finish their work in preparation for an October vote on climate change.

But that deadline now appears highly unlikely to be met.