WASHINGTON -- Three senators with differing political views are working behind-the-scenes to rescue troubled climate legislation.

Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., together with Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., said yesterday that they will work in conjunction with the White House to patch together a bill that could win passage in the Senate.

The three senators met individually with Energy Secretary Steven Chu, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and Carol Browner, the president's assistant for energy and climate change.

"Our effort is to try to reach out to broaden the base of support. ..." Kerry said at an afternoon news conference. "The key here is to really negotiate once, in a sense."

Graham, who has come under fire in his home state for his support of action on climate change, said working on legislation is a "once in a lifetime opportunity" to solve two problems: heat-trapping carbon-dioxide pollution and the country's dependence on foreign sources of fuel.

"If environmental policy is not good business policy, you will not get 60 votes," Graham warned. "The green economy is coming. We can either follow or lead."

The announcement came as a Senate panel for a second straight day delayed voting on any changes to a climate bill introduced in September by Kerry and Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., because Republicans boycotted the meeting. Republicans are demanding a more-thorough economic analysis of the measure because they say it would raise energy prices and cause job losses.

Kerry, Graham and Lieberman stressed yesterday that their "dual track" for climate legislation will not usurp Boxer's efforts, or the work of five other committees that have jurisdiction over energy and climate policy. The Senate energy panel already has cleared a bill that would require more electricity to come from renewable sources and would extend offshore oil drilling.

Left unanswered was how long the new process will take. But with the U.S. joining 191 other nations in Copenhagen in a month to work out a new climate treaty, the Obama administration and Democrats are under pressure to move on a climate bill.