White House Seeks to Bolster Role in Senate Climate Talks |
http://www.nytimes.com/cwire/2010/06/17/17climatewire-white-house-seeks-to-bolster-role-in-senate-78927.html
The White House is trying to assert its influence over the Senate climate debate after President Obama's nationwide energy address left some questioning how aggressively the president will push for comprehensive climate and energy legislation.
Obama made calls yesterday morning to Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Richard Lugar (R-Ind.), both sponsors of competing Senate energy bills, and the White House announced plans to host a bipartisan group of senators next week to discuss the path forward on an energy package.
White House press secretary Robert Gibbs also insisted that the president remains committed to passing legislation that caps carbon dioxide emissions, fending off claims that the president backed away from the approach in his Oval Office speech Tuesday night.
"I think it is safe to say that the president's direction on energy is very similar to the direction that is in the Kerry-Lieberman bill and that the president feels strongly that including a component to deal with climate is important in comprehensive energy reform," Gibbs said.
The energy and climate bill (pdf) co-sponsored by Kerry and Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) would cap domestic greenhouse gas emissions across multiple sectors of the economy. Many Senate Democrats and environmentalists say such a broad approach is needed to combat global warming, but critics say tagging a carbon price onto energy legislation would make it politically toxic.
Obama called for a climate and energy bill Tuesday night, but he noticeably offered few specifics and expressed a willingness to consider alternative plans as Senate Democrats prepare to assemble a package slated for floor debate next month. The full Democratic caucus is expected to meet later today to discuss which elements it will draw from various proposals.
To some, Obama's omission of any mention of a price on carbon indicates that the president is not planning to embark on the uphill climb it would take to get 60 votes for such an approach to clear the Senate.
Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), one of the Senate's most vocal foes of climate legislation, said Obama did not mention a carbon cap because he knows the approach does not have enough support. "He realizes the votes just flat aren't there and the whole Kerry-Lieberman thing that's supposed to be different from the rest is no different -- cap and trade is cap and trade."
Eileen Claussen, president of the Pew Center on Global Climate Change, also said it was noteworthy that the president made no mention of "climate change," a "price on carbon" or "cap and trade."
"I think he'd like to get a bill that moves us as far forward as possible on all of these issues," Claussen said. "I also think he's a realist, and the chances of getting everything he might want are abysmally small."
Lieberman maintained that Obama has not backed away from his commitment to include a carbon-pricing mechanism in the Senate bill.
"The one specific big thing that he did say was that ... he had strong positive words to say about the House bill, which of course is a comprehensive energy bill," Lieberman said. "So I took heart from that and I prefer to focus less on what he did or didn't say specifically, and not only the tone of the remarks but also what he does know, that's the important thing. And I think he's gone right to work."
Obama's only mention of climate was to applaud the House for passing a comprehensive energy and climate bill last summer, saying the chamber acted on principles he laid out as a candidate "that would move our country towards energy independence."
Others said it was appropriate that Obama's speech addressing the crisis in the Gulf of Mexico was not bogged down with the administration's political priorities.
"I think the main focus of the speech was to report to the country on what his administration is doing and is planning on doing regarding the oil spill," said Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) "It was not a speech to Congress, and appropriately he didn't get into a lot of detail about his legislative recommendations."
Notably, Obama did mention -- though not by name -- a renewable electricity standard, "to ensure that more of our electricity comes from wind and solar power," in his speech. That is included in Bingaman's bill (S. 1462 (pdf)) his Energy and Natural Resources Committee passed last year.
Obama also noted suggestions to increase building efficiency standards and increase spending in energy research and development.
"All of these approaches have merit and deserve a fair hearing in the months ahead," Obama said Tuesday. "But the one approach I will not accept is inaction."
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