TPMDC Environment
Liberals and environmentalists are rejoicing tonight over the Obama administration's decision to delay -- or in bureaucratese, "seek further review of" -- a proposal to build a massive pipeline from the Canadian Tar Sands to the gulf coast. But their celebration could be short lived.
Here's the full backstory. The so-called Keystone XL pipeline has become the frustrated environmental community's final litmus test for the President. Though the bureaucratic questions surrounding the project have to do with domestic health and safety concerns, environmentalists fear, with good reason, that the pipeline would assure the extraction of too much carbon for the climate to bear. So they've been hounding the White House and State Department for months in an effort to get the project scrapped altogether.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Barack Obama, Environment, Mike Johanns, Oil, State Department, White House
Government Shutdown
Democrats Demand Boehner Avert Government Shutdown Threat
Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD) and the vast majority of House Democrats have signed a letter to Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) pushing him to strip partisan policy riders out of must-pass legislation to fund the government after the money runs out later this month.
Yes, here we go again. House Republicans are advancing appropriations bills loaded with controversial measures that would defund the new health care law, scrap key environmental protections and more.
"As you know, there is longstanding precedent not to use appropriations bills to enact major changes in national policy, and the bills being reported from Appropriations subcommittees this year violate that precedent," wrote Hoyer in a letter signed by 182 other Democrats. "While not all policy riders are objectionable, many of those included this year are not only controversial but blatantly partisan. Included riders would block the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, roll back important clean air and clean water protections, and place new restrictions on women's access to a full range of medical and health services, among others."
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Abortion, Appropriations, Environment, Government Shutdown, Health Care, Health Care Implementation, John Boehner, Spending, Steny Hoyer
Barack Obama
Obama Would Veto Latest GOP Assault On Pollution Controls
The Obama administration is rejecting House GOP leaders' latest attempt to box him into a corner on environmental protections.
Late Monday afternoon the Office of Management and Budget recommended the President veto two bills House Republicans are planning to bring to the floor for a vote later this week.
Topics: Barack Obama, EPA, Environment, House Republicans, John Boehner, Office of Management and Budget, Veto, White House
Barack Obama
White House Stiffens Resolve On Environment, Threatens Veto
President Barack Obama touring the Solyndra factory in Fremont, California on May 26, 2010.
The President's advisers have made it official and are recommending a strong veto of a House bill that would gut two key anti-pollution rules.
In a sternly worded statement, officials at the Office of Management and Budget on Wednesday took exception to a House bill that would put off a pending upgrade of mercury standars for power plants and delay an EPA rule cutting power plant emissions that blow across state lines and contribute to smog.
"Each year, these rules would avoid tens of thousands of premature deaths, prevent tens of thousands of heart attacks and thousands of hospital visits for respiratory and cardiovascular disease, and alleviate hundreds of thousands of childhood asthma attacks and other respiratory illnesses," the officials wrote in the statement. "EPA estimates that these two rules alone will yield hundreds of billions of dollars in net benefits each year."
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Barack Obama, Environment
Environment
Obama Smog Decision Will Leave In Place 'Legally Indefensible' Environmental Standard
President Obama pulled the plug Friday on a long-delayed environmental regulation that would have further limited industrial smog emissions, leaving in place an ozone standard that EPA administrator Lisa Jackson recently described as "legally indefensible." The development most likely means smog standards in many states will remain lower than they would have been if President George W. Bush's lax policy had been fully pursued.
The proposed limits have been under assault by congressional Republicans and the business community for months. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) recently called it "possibly the most harmful of all the currently anticipated Obama Administration regulations."
Obama's decision comes the same day new employment figures show the economy created zero net jobs in August.
What was the regulation, and what does it mean now that it's been scotched? In short, it means Bush-era smog standards, declared inadequate by government science advisers, will likely remain in effect until mid-decade if not longer.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Barack Obama, EPA, Environment, Eric Cantor, George W. Bush, Lisa Jackson
Barack Obama
Obama Pushes Back Against GOP On Regulatory Costs
President Barack Obama
President Barack Obama on Tuesday pushed back against GOP charges that he is saddling the nation with costly and overly burdensome regulations. In fact, Obama argued, he has led the way in trying to reduce the federal government's regulatory costs on individuals and businesses across the country.
In a letter to House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), Obama said his efforts to reduce the government's regulatory burden will save $10 billion over the next five years, adding that he hopes to find billions more in additional savings. Earlier this year, Obama issued an executive order imposing a series of requirements designed to reduce burdens and costs and called for a government-wide review of rules now on the books.
Topics: Barack Obama, EPA, Environment, John Boehner, White House
Republicans
Cantor Jobs Memo Calls For Repeal Of Health, Environment, Labor Rules -- And For More Tax Cuts
Rep. John Boehner (R-OH) and Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA) with members of the Republican House leadership
When Congress returns from recess, House Republicans will begin a continuous assault on a series of health, environmental and labor regulations, which they say are hampering job creation. And they'll twin it with two tax cuts for both large and small businesses. One of those cuts will actually be aimed at preventing a scheduled tax increase -- but it's not the payroll tax cut President Obama has asked Congress to extend.
In a memo to members, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) laid out a list of 10 rules, most of which have yet to be implemented, which they'll seek to prevent week by week. These include regulations that would limit the amount of mercury and other toxins boiler and incinerator operators can burn into the atmosphere; that could make it easier for workers to unionize; and that assure that employer insurance policies exempted from new health care law -- so-called "grandfathered" plans -- meet the law's basic requirements and aren't gamed by employers to reduce workers' existing benefits.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: EPA, Environment, Eric Cantor, Health Care, Jobs, Labor, Republicans
Environment
Why Far-Off Canadian Tar Sands Have Become A Make-Or-Break Issue For Obama With Enviros
For six days and counting now, hundreds of protesters have gathered outside the White House to demand President Obama intervene and stop the construction of an oil pipeline that will span the breadth of the United States -- from Montana to the Gulf of Mexico. Over 300 of them have been arrested -- and not just wild-eyed idealistic college students, but high-profile advocates including environmental leader Bill McKibben. Despite all this, the administration says this is a question for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
What the heck is this all about?
At issue isn't just NIMBYism or standard concerns about oil spills, but the question of whether the United States should accelerate an extraction process that some environmental experts say will lose the fight against global warming forever.
Topics: Barack Obama, Climate Change, EPA, Energy, Environment, Global Warming, Hillary Clinton, Oil, Oil Spill, State Department
Environment
Tim Pawlenty Says Climate Change Not Man-Made
Former Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN)
Tim Pawlenty went full climate denier on Tuesday, embracing fringe claims that the vast international consensus on the issue is "bad science."
"So there is climate change, but the reality is the science of it indicates that most of it, if not all of it, is caused by natural causes," Pawlenty told FOX News. "And as to the potential human contribution to that, there's a great scientific dispute about that very issue."
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: 2012, 2012 Presidential Primaries, 2012 elections, Climate Change, Environment, Jon Huntsman, Mitt Romney, Tim Pawlenty
Climate Change
Al Gore: President Obama Has Failed To Lead On Climate Change
Al Gore is calling out President Obama for his lack of leadership on the environment, saying the White House has failed to "make the case for bold action on climate change."
The ex-Veep's criticism is part of a lengthy Rolling Stone essay out Wednesday that recounts how the climate change movement faltered after coming so close to achieving its legislative goals in 2009.
"[Obama's] election was accompanied by intense hope that many things in need of change would change," Gore says. "Some things have, but others have not. Climate policy, unfortunately, is in the second category. Why?"
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Al Gore, Barack Obama, Climate Change, Environment, White House
Climate Change
Meet The New Pollution-Friendly GOP
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GOP Presidential Candidates Debate, Jun 13, 2011
In last week's debate, Republicans got their first look at a GOP field much more openly hostile to the environment than in recent elections, with several candidates openly calling for an end to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). But many of the top contenders have also flirted with eco-friendly policy in the recent past, even if they aren't too quick to proclaim it these days. Making matters more confusing, here's even some overlap between the two camps. So where do the big players stand right now?
On the far end, you have the "Abolish the EPA" crowd. These were the loudest and most noteworthy voices at the New Hampshire debate.
"What we need to do is pass the mother of all repeal bills, but it's the repeal bill that will get a job killing regulations," Michele Bachmann said at the event. "And I would begin with the EPA, because there is no other agency like the EPA. It should really be renamed the job-killing organization of America."
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Climate Change, EPA, Environment, Herman Cain, Jon Huntsman, Michele Bachmann, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Rick Perry, Ron Paul, Tim Pawlenty
Cap-and-Trade
Republican Senate Candidate Attacks Opponent For Supporting Cap-And-Trade Plan HE Helped Write
Updated 6:45 p.m.
Republican Senate candidate Adam Hasner is attacking one of his primary opponents by linking him to a stalled cap-and-trade climate change law in Florida. That may sound like par for the course in GOP politics except for one small problem: Hasner co-sponsored that bill, and praised it publicly when it passed the state legislature.
In a press release attacking Republican candidate George Lemieux -- who already served in the Senate in an interim capacity after Sen. Mel Martinez (R-FL) resigned -- Hasner tied his opponent to a cap-and-trade initiative spearheaded by former Governor Charlie Crist.
Like many Republicans, though, Hasner knows a thing or two about supporting cap and trade in the pre-Obama era.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Adam Hasner, Cap-and-Trade, Climate Change, Environment, FL-SEN, George LeMieux, Republicans
Lindsey Graham
Graham Plans to Grill Obama's Commerce Secretary Pick On Labor Issues And Service On Boeing's Board
Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-SC)
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) plans to question President Obama's choice for Commerce secretary on an issue related to union bargaining rights and Boeing.
John Bryson, who Obama tapped Tuesday to replace outgoing Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, serves on Boeing's board of directors though he will be forced to step down and recuse himself from any matters dealing with the defense giant, if confirmed by the Senate.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Barack Obama, Business, Commerce Department, Environment, Lindsey Graham, john bryson
Barack Obama
Obama Taps Bryson As Commerce Secretary
John Bryson
President Barack Obama announced the nomination of businessman John Bryson to head the Commerce Department at the White House on Tuesday.
Bryson's name has been mentioned as a potential cabinet post since Obama won election in 2008. As a former chairman and CEO of Edison International, the parent company of Southern California Edison, and a co-founder of the Natural Resources Defense Council, he has straddled business and environmental activist circles. He also has served as a member of the United Nation's advisory group on energy and climate change.
During his tenure as the head of the California Public Utilities Commission in the early 1990s, Bryson angered some in the environmental community by arguing against renewable energy construction projects and defending the state's reliance on nuclear power.
If confirmed by the Senate, Bryson would replace outgoing Commerce Secretary Gary Locke who Obama tapped as the next ambassador to China.
Topics: Barack Obama, Business, Commerce Department, Environment, Gary Locke, john bryson
john bryson
Obama To Nominate John Bryson As Commerce Secretary
John Bryson
President Barack Obama plans to nominate businessman John Bryson to head the Commerce Department, according to a White House official.
Bryson's name has been mentioned as a potential cabinet post since Obama won election in 2008. As a former chairman and CEO of Edison International, the parent company of Southern California Edison, and a co-founder of the Natural Resources Defense Council, he has straddled business and environmental activist circles. He also has served as a member of the United Nation's advisory group on energy and climate change.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Barack Obama, Business, Commerce Department, Environment, Gary Locke, john bryson
EPA
Ads Hit McCaskill, Brown On EPA Votes
Sens. Scott Brown (R-MA) and Claire McCaskill (D-MO)
A Republican and a Democratic senator who both face re-election in 2012 are coming under attack for their votes to reduce the Environmental Protection Agency's regulatory power.
Topics: 2012, 2012 elections, Claire McCaskill, EPA, Environment, Scott Brown
Climate Change
Obama Calls Out 'Climate Change Deniers In Congress'
President Barack Obama
At a fundraiser in San Francisco Wednesday evening, President Obama took direct, and unusually blunt, aim at a faction in the U.S. Congress that played a major role in upending his plan to pass sweeping clean energy and climate change legislation.
"There are climate change deniers in Congress and when the economy gets tough, sometimes environmental issues drop from people's radar screens," Obama told about 200 guests at the Pacific Heights residence of internet billionaire Marc Benioff, according to an official transcript. "But I don't think there's any doubt that unless we are able to move forward in a serious way on clean energy that we're putting our children and our grandchildren at risk. So that's not yet done."
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Barack Obama, Cap-and-Trade, Climate Change, Democrats, Environment, Republicans, White House
BP
BP To Cut Tax Bill By $13B But Won't Say What It's Paying IRS For 2010
An explosion at the Deepwater Horizon oil rig
BP plans to cut its overall tax bill by nearly $13 billion by writing off costs related to last year's mammoth oil spill as the Gulf Coast continues to grapple with the devastating environmental and economic costs of the disaster one year later.
The international oil giant suffered a $40.9 billion loss as a result of the oil spill, making its net losses for 2010 a total of $4.8 billion (BP had $36.1 billion in profits before factoring in the spill), according to its annual report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and analysis by several tax experts consulted by TPM.
Under U.S. corporate law, companies can take credits on up to 35 percent of their losses. In this case, that means U.S. taxpayers are indirectly subsidizing at least part of cleanup cost and the $20 billion fund BP created to compensate people, fisherman and businesses along the Gulf Coast hurt by the spill.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: BP, Barack Obama, EPA, Eliot Engel, Energy, Environment, Gulf Coast Oil Spill, Justice Department, Tax Breaks, Tax Day
Republicans
The Winners And Losers Of The GOP's First 100 Days In Power
Republicans have controlled the House of Representatives for just over 100 days. In that time, they've worked with Democrats to prevent a government shutdown, and worked alone to pass a budget. They've put the big entitlements on the table, and proposed slowly phasing out one of them -- Medicare -- altogether. In so doing, they've fundamentally shifted the center of the debate on Capitol Hill significantly to the right.
Along the way some individuals have enjoyed the limelight, others have suffered embarrassments, and yet more have just gone along for the ride. But in the end it's not about the personalities -- John Boehner, Harry Reid, or even Barack Obama. It's about the very things that have born the brunt of the impact of the new direction in Washington. Here are our top five winners and losers at the 100 day milestone.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Barack Obama, Budget, Debt, Debt Ceiling, Democrats, Environment, Government Shutdown, Harry Reid, John Boehner, Lindsey Graham, Medicare, Paul Ryan, Republicans, Shariah Law, Social Security, Spending, Vincent Gray, White House
Continuing Resolution
Newly Released Spending Deal Targets Health, Environment, Energy
House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH)
House Republicans and Senate Democrats have posted details of the bipartisan spending agreement that staved off a shutdown, providing a first look at where the $39.9 billion of cuts come from on a program by program basis.
Republican priorities can be seen throughout the agreement, with reduced funding for enforcing environmental regulation, scientific research, health care, and education all leaping out.
One of the hardest hit institutions is the Environmental Protection Agency, whose power Republicans have sought to curtail in recent years through a variety of legislative means. The agency will receive $1.6 billion less in funding than current levels, a 16 percent drop, including a $49 million reduction in climate change programs and $149 million cut to the Land and Water Conservation Fund. In a press release, Senate Appropriation Committee Democrats noted that the EPA cuts, while tough, were nearly $1.6 billion less than Republicans' original proposal. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration also saw a $142 million reduction in funding and is prohibited from creating a Climate Service.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Continuing Resolution, Education, Energy, Environment, Harry Reid, Health Care, John Boehner
John Boehner
Reid: I'm Beginning To Doubt Whether Boehner Wants To Avoid A Government Shutdown
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) with Sens. Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Charles Schumer (D-NY)
Asked at a Capitol press conference this afternoon if he's starting to doubt whether House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) wants to avoid a government shutdown, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) didn't mince words.
"Yes, I am," he said.
You can look at that sentiment a couple of ways. Ironically, Reid's statement gives Boehner credibility with his base, which makes it easier for him to strike a deal. But it's also about passing the buck to the other party, as the clock ticks toward a government shutdown.
Topics: Abortion, Chuck Schumer, Dick Durbin, EPA, Environment, Government Shutdown, Harry Reid, John Boehner, Spending
Abortion
Riders Caused The Storm: Government Shutdown Looms Over Anti-Abortion And Anti-EPA Measures
House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH)
If a government shutdown happens, it'll be because Republicans are demanding policy restrictions in addition to spending cuts before agreeing to fund the government through September. These policy restrictions would target abortion providers and seek to limit the reach of the Environmental Protection Agency.
Which of the so-called riders are at stake and how do they work?
There are several riders addressing abortion and environmental regulation. It's not clear yet which of them specifically are at issue. Neither side is saying publicly which they are. But here's a primer on what they contain:
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Abortion, EPA, Environment, Government Shutdown, Spending
Harry Reid
Reid: Looks Like We're Headed For A Government Shutdown
Just 12 hours ago, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) told news cameras outside the White House he was hopeful he could reach a spending deal with House Republicans to avoid a government shutdown. "I have confidence that we can get this done," he said. "We're not there yet. But hope lies eternal."
That's all out the window now. On the Senate floor Thursday morning, Reid declared "I am not nearly as optimistic as I was 11 hours ago." Of a government shutdown, he said "It looks like it's heading in that direction."
"The only thing holding up the agreement is ideology," he said. "[Republicans] have drawn a line in the sand...[over] ideology."
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Abortion, Barack Obama, Environment, Government Shutdown, Harry Reid, Joe Biden, John Boehner, Spending
Government Shutdown
As Negotiators Near Spending Deal, Riders Stall Final Agreement
A Senate Democratic leadership aide tells me that top negotiators for House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) are nearing an agreement that would cut federal spending by somewhere between $33 billion and $40 billion dollars but "much closer to 33."
The men quarterbacking that side of the spending fight are Boehner's chief of staff Barry Jackson and Reid's chief of staff David Krone. They're working with multiple frameworks that contain somewhat different allocations, and mixes of discretionary and mandatory spending, but according to the aide, are close to resolving that side of the issue.
However, another side of the equation is still holding up a final deal. That's where things get tough.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Abortion, Barack Obama, Budget, EPA, Environment, Government Shutdown, Harry Reid, Health Care, John Boehner, Spending
Environment
Every Single GOPer On House Energy Cmte Won't Say Climate Change Is Real
Reps. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Bob Latta (R-OH) and Fred Upton (R-MI)
Thirty-one Republicans on the House Energy And Commerce Committee -- the entire Republican contingent on the panel -- declined on Tuesday to vote in support of the very idea that climate change exists.
Democrats on the panel had suggested three amendments that said climate change is a real thing, is caused by humans and has potentially dire consequences for the future. The amendments came on a Republican bill to block the EPA from offering regulations to mitigate the results of global climate shifts. The global scientific community is in near unanimous agreement that climate change is real, and that humans contribute to it.
None of the 31 Republicans on the committee would vote yes on any of the amendments (Rep. Marsha Blackburn [R-TN] declined to vote on one.) The committee's 21 Democrats voted yes on all three.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Climate Change, Environment
Energy
Rand Paul: I Have Less Choice In Toilets Than Women Have In Abortions (VIDEO)
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY)
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) is upset that the federal government has squelched his right to own a super-toilet, leaving him with less freedom than women, who are still allowed to have abortions. It's an unusual comparison, but it's meant to underline his opposition to the executive branch's involvement in encouraging energy efficiency.
In a Senate hearing, Paul laid in to Kathleen Hogan, deputy assistant energy secretary for efficiency, for imposing restrictions and fines meant to encourage people to use environmentally friendly appliances.
"It's not that I'm against conservation -- I'm all for energy conservation," Paul admitted. "But I wish you would come here to extol me [sic], to cajole, to encourage, to try to convince me that it would be a good idea to conserve energy. But you come instead with fines, threats of jail. ... This is what your energy efficiency standards are."
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Abortion, Barack Obama, Energy, Environment, Rand Paul
112th Congress
House GOP Lobs Tomato Back at Dems in Styrofoam Food Fight
Facing a pillory of environmental objections from Democratic leaders over its decision to scrap a composting program for the House cafeteria, the Republican-controlled Committee on House Administration fired back on Wednesday, telling TPM that the plan was a wasteful mess.
Earlier this week, DCCC chair Rep. Steve Israel (D-NY) told reporters in a statement that "Evidently the Republican economic strategy for jobs is one word: 'Styrofoam,'" while Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Rep. Mike Honda (D-CA) issued their own condemnations of the new non-biodegradable utensils.
Salley Wood, Communications Director for the House Administration Committee, under whose jurisdiction the cafeteria falls, dismissed their complaints as misleading.
"I'm not sure what objection the DCCC has to us saving taxpayers $475,000 by suspending a program that failed to meet is objectives," Wood told TPM.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: 112th Congress, Dan Lungren, Environment, Nancy Pelosi, Steve Israel
Nancy Pelosi
Dems Wage Food Fight Over Styrofoam in House Cafeteria
Tax cuts for millionaires and budget cuts to social programs are one thing, but touch House Democrats' paper coffee cups and you're in a world of hurt.
Democratic leaders have been waging a war of words against the GOP majority after Republicans canceled a composting program and replaced the cafeteria's biodegradable cups, plates, and utensils with styrofoam and hard plastic. Rep. Daniel Lungren (R-CA), who announced the move last month, said in a press release the House Inspector General concluded the process of composting the green utensils added $475,000 annually to the Capitol's operating costs with only marginal environmental benefits versus the usual approach of burning trash and using the heat to create energy. In addition, the biodegradable materials drew frequent criticism from cafeteria-goers, who complained the utensils broke easily and the cups could not hold coffee without overheating and even sometimes leaking out the bottom.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: 112th Congress, Dan Lungren, Environment, Nancy Pelosi, Steve Israel
Government Shutdown
Reid Rejects Controversial GOP Spending Bill Riders
Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) and Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY)
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said the Senate will not accept the dozens of riders House Republicans added to their recently-passed spending bills -- policy measures that do everything from defund Planned Parenthood to rescind the EPA's authority to regulate pollution.
It's the latest salvo in the battle over funding the government -- and at some point House Republicans will have to decide whether they'll allow these measures to be flushed down the toilet.
Reid made the comments on a conference call to reporters after Republicans rejected his call for extending current spending levels for 30 days while the two parties craft a longer-term bill to cut those funds.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Chuck Schumer, EPA, Environment, Government Shutdown, Harry Reid, John Boehner, Planned Parenthood, Spending
Oversight Committee
Heritage Asks Issa To Reverse Decades Of Worker, Consumer, Environmental Laws
Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA)
CREW got a hold of a bunch of letters to House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa from trade association, industry, and think tank leaders, which identify aspects of the federal regulatory regime that they believe Issa should investigate to make life and profits easier for businesses.
The one that most neatly reflects the priorities of the conservative movement comes from the Heritage Foundation, which is asking Issa to attack decades worth of regulatory and statutory worker and consumer protections.
Here's the laundry list:
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Darrell Issa, Environment, Heritage Foundation, Labor, Oversight Committee
Darrell Issa
Major Trade Association Asks Issa To Curb Toxin, Safety, Financial Reform Regs
Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA)
Late last year, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), the incoming chairman of the House Oversight Committee sent a letter to the country's major trade associations and private corporations asking them which regulations they want to see weakened or eliminated.
In response, the GOP-friendly National Association of Manufacturers has asked him to probe forthcoming regulations aimed at enhancing worker health, improving toxin standards, mitigating climate pollution and preventing another crisis on Wall Street.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Climate Change, Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Darrell Issa, Environment, Financial Reform, Oversight Committee, Wall Street
Death Panels
GOP Could Force Vote On 'Death Panels'
President Barack Obama
Republicans could turn the cooked-up controversy over end-of-life counseling into a "Death Panel" vote next year.
If they fully embrace their new strategy, outlined here, Republicans could cherry pick politically-charged executive branch regulations and put vulnerable Democrats, particularly in the Senate, in a bind: vote for regulations that are unpopular with their constituents; or rebuke President Obama as he attempts to govern from the White House.
One of those regulations -- scheduled to take effect January 1 -- would achieve the Obama administration's goal of encouraging end-of-life planning. It works by paying Medicare doctors for counseling patients with terminal illness on their medical options -- including advance directives compelling doctors and families to forgo certain medical interventions like feeding tubes, IV fluids or respirators. Obama and congressional Democrats tried to include these incentives in their health care law, but were forced to nix it after Sarah Palin and other Republicans started referring to the provisions as "death panels" that could "pull the plug on grandma."
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Climate Change, Death Panels, EPA, Environment, Health Care, Lisa Murkowski, Medicare, Net Neutrality, Republicans, White House
Ron Johnson
Mailer Supporting Johnson Warns Government Will Ban Hunting Ammunition
Candidate for U.S. Senate Ron Johnson (R-WI)
A political mailer sent to voters in support of Wisconsin Senate candidate Ron Johnson (R) plays on unfounded conservative fears that Democrats will outlaw hunting ammunition.
"It will be hard to hunt when ammo is banned," the mailer reads.
An image of the flier was sent along by a reader, who found it disingenuous. And indeed, groups that support gun bans don't exactly count the Obama administration as an ally.
"Anti-hunting extremists groups are trying to force the federal government to ban traditional hunting ammunition," it reads. "And they just may succeed.... Choose Ron Johnson on November 2. Ron Johnson will lead the fight against the anti-hunting extremists to protect your right to hunt."
The mailer was paid for by Safari Club International's PAC, based in Tucson, AZ.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: 2010 elections, EPA, Environment, NRA, Ron Johnson, Russ Feingold, Senate '10, WI-SEN
Energy
GOP Prepares To Oppose Dem Energy Bill Over Oil Spill Liability
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)
Despite the demise of climate change legislation last week, top Republicans are loudly opposing a new, scaled back energy bill unveiled by Senate Democrats last night.
At a press conference this morning with top Republicans, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) called it a "cobbled-together bill," and GOP aides continue to raise the specter of a "national energy tax" despite the fact that the new legislation contains no tax on carbon emissions.
The Democratic plan, which is comprised of several measures (each of which has bipartisan support), may be in serious jeopardy, unless Democrats budge on one key issue: oil spill liability.
Topics: Cap-and-Trade, Climate Change, Energy, Environment, Gulf Coast Oil Spill, John Barrasso, Lisa Murkowski, Nuclear Energy, Oil, Oil Spill, Republicans
Climate Change
Kerry's Confident Climate Change Bill Momentum Is Heating Up
Sen. John Kerry (D-MA), Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) and Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-SC)
Sen. John Kerry today is meeting with the Senate committee chairmen to outline the bipartisan climate change legislation that is taking shape privately on Capitol Hill.
For months Kerry has been huddling with Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) with backing from the White House and President Obama's Green Cabinet to come up with a bill that passes political muster. Political aides and Kerry declined to give a firm timeline or say whether something could actually get done in midterm election year, but Kerry told reporters Tuesday he feels "very positive" that the details his bipartisan trio is working through could become a specific proposal soon.
"I feel much more confident that we, all the three of us, and others who are engaged in this, have a clear sense of direction. What we're doing now is working through the details," Kerry said. "It's a puzzle, you have to fit all the pieces together."
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Climate Change, Copenhagen, Environment, Green Cabinet, Joe Lieberman, John Kerry, Lindsey Graham, White House
Blanche Lincoln
Sierra Club Enters The Primary Fray In Arkansas
Lt. Gov. Bill Halter (D-AR) and Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR)
Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) will be the target of a new series of attack ads launched by the Sierra Club in Arkansas today. Lincoln's support for a plan to strip the EPA of its ability to regulate greenhouse gas emissions has drawn fire from environmental groups for a while now, and the new Sierra Club ad campaign is not the group's first on the subject.
But coming on the heels of Lt. Gov. Bill Halter's decision to challenge Lincoln in the Democratic Senate primary, the Sierra Club's new attack on Lincoln puts the group in the company of the AFL-CIO, MoveOn and other national groups pouring money into Arkansas in opposition to Lincoln.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (1)Topics: AR-SEN, Blanche Lincoln, Cap-and-Trade, Environment
Blanche Lincoln
Sierra Club Targeting Blanche Lincoln Over Clean Air Act (AUDIO)
Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR)
The Sierra Club is up with a new radio ad campaign targeting Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) over what the group calls her "her decision to co-sponsor legislation that would undermine the Clean Air Act."
The Club is the second group to take to the airwaves to attack Lincoln over her decision to join an amendment by Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) that would block the EPA from regulating greenhouse gas emissions. Last month, MoveOn.org ran several TV ads attacking Lincoln for co-sponsoring the measure.
Audio of the new Sierra Club spot and video of MoveOn's ad after the jump.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Blanche Lincoln, Environment
Blanche Lincoln
Extreme Makeover! Facing Daunting Electoral Odds, Lincoln Swerves Right
Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR)
Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) hasn't been what some might call a "model Democrat" this Congress. Behind every vote she casts and word she utters in public is a simple--and for her terrifying--political reality. Up for reelection in an extremely unfriendly electoral climate, and deeply unpopular among her constituents, Lincoln has been guarding her right flank for a year, putting her at odds with the bulk of her colleagues on issue after issue, and requiring considerable arm-twisting (and concessions) from leadership to win her support for major initiatives, including health care reform back in December.
But in just the past few weeks, Lincoln's MO has changed. When health care reform was the issue driving national politics, and Democrats were in "must do" mode, Lincoln laid low. Almost comically so--dodging reporters via privileged exits, and through the Capitol's labyrinthine hallways. Now, with Washington preparing for what could be a watershed mid-term election in November, Lincoln has found her voice...and it's an increasingly conservative one!
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: AR-SEN, Barack Obama, Blanche Lincoln, Democrats, Environment, Health Care
Climate Change
Obama Acknowledges Senate Unlikely To Adopt Pollution Limits
President Barack Obama
It's been apparent for quite some time that the Senate is unlikely to follow the House's lead in calling for the creation of an economy-wide market in greenhouse gas emissions. But today, at a town hall meeting in Nashua, NH, President Obama seemed, however reluctantly, to acknowledge the political reality.
"The most controversial aspects of the energy debate that we've been having: The House passed an energy bill, and people complained about, well, there's this cap and trade thing, and you just mentioned, you know, let's do the fun stuff before we do the hard stuff," Obama told former New Hampshire Rep. Dick Swett.
The only thing I would say about it is this. We may be able to separate these things out, and it-it's conceivable that that's where the Senate ends up, but the concept of incentivizing clean energy so that it's the cheaper more effective kind of energy is one that is proven to work and is actually a market-based approach.PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)
Topics: Barack Obama, Cap-and-Trade, Climate Change, Environment, House of Representatives, Senate
Democrats
Moderate Dems: Climate Change Bill in 2010? Fuggedaboutit
It's no secret that conservative Democrats from coal, oil, and manufacturing states have long been wary about capping greenhouse gas emissions, but in the wake of the health care slog, they're letting their leadership and the White House know they want cap-and-trade off the table in 2010. Stand-alone energy legislation might stand a chance, but nothing nearly as ambitious as a bill the House passed in July to create an economy wide market for global warming emissions.
And there's at least some signs leadership is listening.
"At this point I'd like to see a complete bill but we have to be realistic," Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) said last week.
If the Senate fails to act on climate change this Congress, all of the House's hard work will be swept into the dustbin, and Democrats will have to start largely from scratch in 2011.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Cap-and-Trade, Climate Change, Democrats, Dick Durbin, Environment, Joe Lieberman, John Kerry, Lindsey Graham, Senate
