Weekly Climate Change Policy Update - June 14, 2010

Kyle Danish, Shelley Fidler, Kevin Gallagher, Megan Ceronsky, Tomás Carbonell, Harold Bulger, Van Smith To receive the Weekly Update via email, visit our Sign Up/Subscribe page http://www.vnf.com/news-signup.html

Commentary

The Senate rejected the Murkowski Resolution by a vote of 53 to 47. Six Democrats and all 41 Republicans had supported the Resolution . . . The rejection of the Murkowski Resolution has not clarified the path forward on energy/climate legislation. Majority Leader Reid's meeting with six committee chairmen did not yield a final plan. Senators Kerry and Lieberman agreed to work with Senators Baucus and Bingaman on possible further changes to their bill (utility-sector-only cap?). The Majority Leader has scheduled a meeting of the entire Senate Democratic caucus this week. The goal is to arrive at a decision on how to proceed after the July 4 recess . . . In the meantime, other designs continue to get attention. Senator Lugar's no-carbon-price bill has attracted interest from Senators Graham and Murkowski. Senator Graham said the Lugar bill has the best chance of success of any designs . . . Senators also want a closer look at the Cantwell-Collins bill. Senators Bingaman and Murkowski have asked the EPA to do an analysis of the bill . . . EPA may have more time on their hands after the release of their analysis of the Kerry-Lieberman bill, which is scheduled for Tuesday, June 15.

Executive Branch

White House Applauds Vote on Murkowski Resolution After Threatening Veto. The White House remained engaged with the Senate vote on a resolution (S.J. Res. 26) introduced by Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), which would have disapproved the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) December 2009 "endangerment finding" (see discussion below). On June 8, the White House issued a rare, formal "Statement of Administration Policy" (SAP) expressing "strong" opposition to the Murkowski resolution, saying the resolution would "increase the Nation's dependence on oil and other fossil fuels and block efforts to cut pollution that threatens our health and well-being." The SAP contained the information that the President's advisors would recommend vetoing the resolution were it to pass both houses of Congress. Following Thursday's vote, the White House issued a press statement applauding the defeat of the Murkowski resolution. President Barack Obama said that "The Senate chose to move America forward, towards that clean energy economy – not backward to the same failed policies that have left our nation increasingly dependent on foreign oil." The Statement of Administration Policy can be viewed at http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/assets/sap_111/sapsjr26s_20100608.pdf . President Presses Congressional Leaders for Action on Comprehensive Energy Legislation. On the same day that the Senate voted on the Murkowski resolution, the President met with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to discuss Congressional plans for taking up climate change and clean energy legislation this summer. After the meeting, the President made a public statement urging lawmakers "to move on an energy agenda that is forward-looking, that creates jobs, [and] that assures we are leaders in solar and wind and biodiesel." EPA Delays Release of Economic Analysis of Kerry-Lieberman Bill. EPA announced that it would defer the release of its long-awaited economic analysis of the Kerry-Lieberman bill until Monday, June 14. The original release date was to be June 11. Energy Secretary Responds to Lugar Energy Bill. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu responded to the...