Supporters of legislation to address climate change expected last week’s rollout of a cap-and-trade energy plan — complete with Earth Day events and an Al Gore appearance on Capitol Hill — would boost their efforts.

Instead, what they got was an earful from a group of moderate Democratic lawmakers, many of whom represent competitive seats, who said the policy would set their already-economically hard-hit districts even further back.

“What I’ve seen so far is nowhere near where it needs to be for me to support it,” Rep. Jason Altmire (D-Pa.) told POLITICO. “Any way you do it, it hurts Pennsylvania, especially western Pennsylvania.”

“I think cap and trade is bad policy,” said Altmire.

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