WASHINGTON -- A House panel will hear new allegations of political pressure on government climate scientists at a hearing today, while two presidential hopefuls will outline their proposals on global warming at a Senate hearing.

The Democratic-controlled Congress is focusing on climate change this week as an international panel of scientists gathers in Paris to release a report that is expected to reinforce concerns over so-called greenhouse gas emissions, which scientists say are warming the earth.

Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., was scheduled to hear testimony today from several current and former government climate officials who have complained of political pressure by the Bush administration to play down the seriousness of the climate issue.

Among the witnesses called by Waxman is Rick Piltz, who resigned in 2005 from the government's office that coordinates climate programs, alleging that a political appointee was severely editing government reports on climate to tone them down.

That official, Philip Cooney, later resigned as chief of staff at the White House Council on Environmental Quality to go to work for Exxon Mobil Corp.

The hearing is expected to go beyond the Cooney incident and expand into allegations of broader interference.

The Union of Concerned Scientists, a private advocacy group, and the Government Accountability Project, a legal-assistant group that represents whistle-blowers, said Monday that they will present "new evidence of suppression and manipulation of climate science."

The groups said their findings cover seven federal agencies and include information about "firsthand experiences" by government climate scientists and workers.

Meanwhile, Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., is opening her Environment Committee to all senators wishing to discuss their views or legislation on global warming.

Among those to address the meeting today will be Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., followed by Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., both presidential contenders and sponsors of legislation that would require sharp, mandatory reductions in heat-trapping emissions, especially carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels.

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