The vote was a big win for President Barack Obama, who hailed House passage as a "historic action."

"It's a bold and necessary step that holds the promise of creating new industries and millions of new jobs, decreasing our dangerous dependence on foreign oil and strictly limiting the release of pollutants that threaten the health of families and communities and the planet itself," Obama said in a statement.

"Now it's up to the Senate to take the next step."

House Democratic leaders said the bill helped accomplish one of Obama's campaign promises and would make the United States a leader in international efforts to address climate change when negotiations take place in Copenhagen later this year.

"We passed transformational legislation, which will take us into the future," Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said at a news conference at the 219-212 roll call.

But she acknowledged it was not easy. "For some it was a very difficult vote because the entrenched agents of the status quo were out there full force jamming the lines in their districts and here, and they withstood that," she said.

The vote marked the first time either house of Congress has passed legislation to curb global warming gases. The legislation, totaling about 1,200 pages, would require the U.S. to reduce carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions by 17 percent from 2005 levels by 2020 and by 83 percent by mid-century.

But success will be tougher in the Senate, where Majority Leader Harry Reid has said he wants to take up the legislation by the fall and where 60 votes will be needed to overcome any Republican filibuster.

"Today's razor-thin vote in the House spells doom in the Senate," said Sen. James Inhofe, the top Republican on the Senate's environment panel said in a statement issued after the vote.

Reid was more optimistic.

"The bill is not perfect, but it is a good product for the Senate," Reid said. "Working with the president and his team, I am hopeful that the Senate will be able to debate and pass bipartisan and comprehensive clean energy and climate legislation this fall."

Supporters and opponents agreed that the legislation would lead to higher energy costs, but they disagreed vigorously on the impact on consumers.

Democrats pointed to two reports _ one from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office and the other from the Environmental Protection Agency _ that suggested average increases would be limited after tax credits and rebates were taken into account. The CBO estimated the bill would cost an average household $175 a year, the EPA $80 to $110 a year, but Republicans and industry groups say the real figure would much higher.

The White House and congressional Democrats argued the bill would create millions of green jobs as the nation shifts to greater reliance on renewable energy sources such as wind and solar and development of more fuel-efficient vehicles _ and away from use of fossil fuels such as oil, gas and coal.

It will "make our nation the world leader on clean energy jobs and technology," declared Rep. Henry Waxman, a Democrat who negotiated deals with dozens of lawmakers in recent weeks to broaden the bill's support.

Republicans saw it differently.

This "amounts to the largest tax increase in American history under the guise of climate change," declared Rep. Mike Pence.