At a June 6 hearing of the Senate Commerce Committee, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood was questioned about whether the Administration would support Senator John Thune’s (R-SD) legislation to prohibit American airlines from participating in the European Union’s Emissions Trading System. The European Union Emissions Scheme Prohibition Act (S. 1956) instructs the Secretary of Transportation to bar American airlines from participating in the EU’s emissions trading system if the Secretary has determined that it would be in the public interest to do so; it also instructs government officials to conduct negotiations so that aircraft operators that fail to comply with the emissions trading scheme are not subject to retaliation or penalties from the EU. Senator Thune is considering offering the legislation as an amendment to other pending legislation. Secretary LaHood, while saying that he wasn’t prepared to take a position on the legislation, did say that he and other Administration officials, including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, have made their opposition to the EU plan clear.