Weekly Political Roundup–Growing Consensus on Energy Security
Posted January 29, 2010 at 8:29 am 
Filed in: The State of the Union on Wednesday was not the only public sign of a possible shift on energy and climate legislation. Even before the president appeared to back gently away from cap and trade legislation (as discussed in yesterday’s EPIC post), the tripartisan leaders in the Senate—Senators Kerry, Lieberman, and Graham—who had previously floated a compromise framework that included cap and trade, did the same. The New York Times put it best:
“The trio last fall indicated they plan to compromise on more nuclear power and expanded oil and gas drilling. But they had resisted calls to pare back their plans on an economywide cap-and-trade program, saying that was the lowest-cost alternative for industry.
“Until now.
“All three now say they are willing to listen to senators who would prefer alternative ideas, including starting first with emission limits on the electric utility industry and then perhaps phasing in other parts of the economy.”
In the meantime, Senator Dorgan—one of the leaders on the bipartisan energy bill that emerged from the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee last summer—is pushing leadership to bring that bill to a floor.
The message from both 1600 Pennsylvania and Capitol Hill and from members of both parties was clear: we want a comprehensive energy security bill, and we are open for discussion on how to get one.
Clearly, this is good news for those concerned about energy security. While it is still unclear which path a final bill will take—whether it be the ENR legislation, something by Kerry, Lieberman, and Graham, or (perhaps most likely) a combination of both along with leadership input—what is clear is that there is going to be a strong bipartisan push to put energy security back on the legislative frontlines this year.
Which is exactly where it belongs.
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