A trio of senators with differing political views is working behind-the-scenes to rescue troubled climate legislation.

Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., together with Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Sen. Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., said Wednesday they would work in conjunction with the White House to patch together a bill that could pass the U.S. 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 was 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.