Political Roundup
Posted August 6, 2010 at 8:58 am 
Filed in: At the beginning of the week, Democrats were clinging to slim hopes of an energy bill passing through the Senate. On Tuesday, it became clear that the Senate calendar would not allow for both an energy debate and the confirmation of Supreme Court nominee, Elena Kagan. For the majority party, this was the final blow in a disappointing summer which saw the disappearance of cap and trade, a renewable energy standard, and an oil spill liability bill.
With cap and trade legislation having already passed the House, the Senate’s inaction seemed more a response to political posturing than public indifference. A National Journal survey states, “Sixty-five percent of the public favored limited greenhouse gas carbon limits, and they supported a slew of other energy measures, including increasing incentives for nuclear power (56 percent), expanding domestic development of coal, oil and natural gas (72 percent), requiring utilities to produce more renewable energy (78 percent) and enacting stricter regulations on oil drilling (69 percent).”
With these numbers in mind, some Senate democrats have taken a more upbeat stance. In E&E Daily, Tom Udall (D-NM) states, “When we return in September, the Senate should move as quickly as possible and pass legislation to reform offshore oil and gas production, establish a Renewable Electricity Standard, reduce our dependence on foreign oil, and create other clean energy incentives, like natural gas vehicles.”
This Friday, Washington did see the beginnings of a bipartisan compromise regarding the topic of oil spill liabilities. In E&E Daily, Mary Landrieu (D-LA) states, “”We’re all in agreement that we don’t want the taxpayers to pick up the tab, we want the polluters to pay … for the cleanup, but we want to do it in a way that lays the groundwork for the industry to grow and operate, and not to … pull the rug out from underneath it.” Lisa Murkoswki (R-AL), in the same article, states, “It’s very, very similar to mine, so I kind of like it.” While this is a step in the right direction, even Landrieu is unwilling to budge on certain issues, stating she “would not vote for a liability-only bill.”
The Senate now heads home, and lingering questions remain about energy legislation, oil spill liability, and even the length of the Obama administration’s drilling moratorium. The Wall Street Journal reports, “The new head of the Interior Department’s offshore-drilling agency said he won’t make any recommendations about lifting the Obama administration’s moratorium on deep-water drilling until at least mid-September and rebuffed repeated requests from Louisiana politicians for a more specific timeline.”
In terms of energy policy, we saw very few answers this summer, and tough roads lie ahead. Politico reports, “The delay virtually ensures that strategists from both parties will use the congressional recess to hone their plans, talking points and poison-pill amendments for any floor debate, all with an eye toward the midterm elections.” In Greenwire, Corry Westbrook, legislative director for National Wildlife Federation, tempers his expectations, “In September, you start to go into election time, too, things can get harder.” As we move forward, we look to the September session as the next stepping stone in the energy debate. Senator Reid’s oil spill bill included bipartisan elements, most notably electrification legislation, which passed the Senate Energy and Natural Resources committee with a 19-4 vote. We will soon see if time away from Washington and bipartisan issues of agreement can create an environment conducive to the passage of energy legislation.
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