Democrats on the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee indicated they would approve a climate change bill despite a boycott by panel Republicans.

Committee Chairwoman Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., was considering reporting out the measure Thursday with a simple majority, which wouldn't require the presence of two minority party members necessary for a markup, sources told The Washington Post.

Republican senators have been boycotting markup sessions, saying the panel shouldn't act on the bill unless it gets more analysis from the Environmental Protection Agency. The bill is sponsored by Boxer and Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass.

David McIntosh, associate administrator for EPA's office of congressional and intergovernmental relations, told the panel Tuesday a study such as the Republicans want would cost $135,000 and take 1,600 man-hours to finish, the Post reported. McIntosh said the analysis would not yield significantly different results from the one the agency already completed.