CQ TODAY PRINT EDITION
May 18, 2009 – 6:10 p.m.
Democrats Line Up Behind Energy Bill
By Avery Palmer, CQ Staff
House Democrats are closing ranks over energy legislation that appears likely to win committee approval this week, despite Republican efforts to lure moderates to their side.
Several Democrats on the Energy and Commerce Committee announced their support for the bill Monday after exhaustive negotiations over how it would affect their districts. After adjourning Monday afternoon, the committee will reconvene Tuesday to continue a markup of the bill (
One of these lawmakers was John D. Dingell , D-Mich., who has long been protective of his state’s auto industry. Dingell praised California Democrat Henry A. Waxman — who ousted him from the chairmanship this year — for addressing the auto industry’s concerns.
“This is a bill that I think I can support,” Dingell said. “I commend you for working with me and other members of the committee to abate our concerns with the initial draft.”
Joining Dingell on Monday in signing onto the bill were Democrats Gene Green of Texas, who had held out for language more favorable to his state’s oil refineries, and G.K. Butterfield of North Carolina, who said Waxman has satisfied his concerns about the economic impact on low-income consumers and the impact of the renewable energy mandate on Southeastern states.
“You have crafted this legislation very skillfully in a way that will completely offset the economic impact on the lowest quintile,” Butterfield said.
Baron P. Hill , D-Ind., has been mostly silent about his views on the bill but told reporters he would probably support it. “I’m inclined to believe that I will be voting for it, but that’s not final,” he said.
He said the bill includes a new provision, at his request, to allow the clean burning of municipal solid waste to count as a renewable energy source, which could help his state meet the bill’s clean-energy standard.
A spokesman for Bart Stupak , D-Mich., said he will likely support the bill now that it includes legislation Stupak introduced last week (
Negotiations With Moderates Continue
Waxman spent several weeks negotiating with moderate Democrats to draft a bill they would support.
For Dingell, this meant adding financial assistance to the auto industry for the development of clean vehicles. And an amendment is expected to add a “cash for clunkers” program to pay consumers to trade in for more fuel-efficient vehicles.
Dingell still disagrees with the bill’s short-term target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 17 percent below current levels by 2020, which is more than President Obama has proposed but less than the 20 percent level that Waxman sought. Dingell and other moderates such as Rick Boucher , D-Va., may try to lower this target further when the bill moves to the floor.
“I continue to believe the president’s proposed 14 percent greenhouse gas reductions by 2020 is a better approach,” Dingell said.
If there are no Republican votes for the legislation, Waxman can only afford to lose six Democrats for the bill to win approval. A number of them have not yet weighed in. John Barrow , D-Ga., said it is “too early to say” whether he will support it.
Charlie Melancon , D-La., has outlined a series of concerns, including his desire for the bill to increase domestic energy production, a spokeswoman said. He also believes the funding for wetlands restoration, estimated at $650 million in the first year, is insufficient.
Eliot L. Engel , D-N.Y., wants the bill to do more to promote vehicles that can run on ethanol and other alternative fuels, although Waxman said he believes this concern has been addressed. “We’ll continue to talk to him about it,” Waxman said.
Jay Inslee , D-Wash., supports the bill but wants to add controversial language giving the federal government authority to site electric transmission lines if states objected.
The Senate is considering a similar provision in order to facilitate delivery of renewable energy. “It’s important for the House to go on record in this direction. I think the Senate probably will,” Inslee said.
GOP Could Offer Hundreds of Amendments
Members will begin offering amendments Wednesday, with potentially hundreds from the Republican side. But the minority party did not request a reading of the entire bill as a protest move, as many Democrats had feared would occur.
Fred Upton of Michigan, top Republican on the Energy and Environment Subcommittee, said the GOP would confer to set priorities for their amendments.
But hope that they would be able to block the bill’s approval seemed to be fading. “It looks like he’s made some real headway to getting this out of committee,” Upton said.
Republicans also objected that the Congressional Budget Office has not yet scored the bill to determine its costs. The legislation would cap greenhouse gas emissions and issue pollution allowances to industry, which could be traded in the marketplace.
Waxman gave a nod to his colleagues for moving toward consensus.
“Energy legislation is by its nature contentious,” he said. “It can inflame regional differences. But over the last several weeks, we have been able to bridge these differences and build a remarkable coalition behind the legislation.”
Comments
This is not an energy bill. It is a tax bill. It will make everything that you use, eat, and buy more expensive. Polluters will simply pass the costs on to the population and you will then be paying polluters to pollute. The government does not have to destroy an already weak economy by removing the capital that it needs to recover. http://bit.ly/4R5Pd
Before we unilaterally increase the cost of energy for Americans with cap-and-trade, I believe it's imperative that the United States establishes a non-political, scientific commission to review all facts and evidence surrounding global warming. The stakes are huge. If we respond to global warming incorrectly, our children and grandchildren will likely lead lives of increasing hardship and desperation. For the past 20 years I believed global warming was caused by CO2. Now, after reading the United Nations' Climate Change 2007 report, I'm not so sure. I think they loaded the dice. Whereas the report should have considered all possible global warming culprits then narrow the field, the IPCC (the UN's International Panel on Climate Change) instead removed everything from consideration except greenhouse gases. For further discussion see http://energyplanusa.com/ipcc_reports_dont_pass_smell_test.htm
No patriotic and informed American can support the global warming/cap and trade scam, more fraudulent than any Nigerian scam. Cap and trade is a huge tax on the poor and the middle class designed to give the powers of a dictator to Obama and to further enrich his billionaire friends (Gore, Soros, Goldman Sachs, Obama's Chicago Climate Exchange friends, GE, etc.) Cap and Trade "would be the equivalent of an atomic bomb directed at the U.S. economy--all without any scientific justification," says famed climatologist Dr. S. Fred Singer. It would significantly increase taxes and the cost of energy, forcing many companies to close, thus increasing unemployment, poverty and dependence. Those brainwashed to the point of wanting to destroy the economy to "prevent global warming" remind us of primitive humans who believed that killing and sacrificing others would ensure them good weather. Human beings don't have the power to control climate! More and more scientists and thinking people all over the world are realizing that man-made global warming is a hoax that threatens our future and the future of our children. More than 700 international scientists dissent over man-made global warming claims. They are now more than 13 times the number of UN scientists (52) who authored the media-hyped IPCC 2007 Summary for Policymakers. http://www.climatechangefraud.com/content/view/3562/218/ Additionally, more than 30,000 American scientists have signed onto a petition that states, "There is no convincing scientific evidence that human release of carbon dioxide, methane, or other greenhouse gases is causing or will, in the foreseeable future, cause catastrophic heating of the Earth's atmosphere and disruption of the Earth's climate." http://www.petitionproject.org We pray that honest leaders – both Democrat and Republican - are able to save us from Obama's criminal global warming/cap-and-trade scam.
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