TPMDC Nuclear Energy
Rudy Giuliani
Giuliani: We Need A President Who Can Say 'Bomb' Iran
Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani
The war drums are beating louder and louder for Iran. And on CNN Thursday night, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani did his part, casually saying President Obama should threaten to "bomb" Iran to prevent the country from developing a nuclear weapon.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Barack Obama, Iran, Nuclear Energy, Rudy Giuliani, nuclear
Roundup
TPMDC Morning Roundup
White House Flips Into Disaster Mode After Deadly Alabama Tornadoes
The Hill reports: "Obama and his staff have moved quickly since storms devastated Alabama and several other states, mobilizing the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and arranging for a presidential visit to Alabama on Friday. The president also canceled a visit with the Auburn University's NCAA championship football team that had been scheduled for Friday. Obama is traveling to Alabama, which is the Auburn team's home state. After the national embarrassment of Hurricane Katrina severely damaged former President George W. Bush, Obama has worked hard to appear engaged and responsive in the aftermaths of natural disasters."
Obama's Day Ahead
President Obama will meet at 8 a.m. ET with participants in the 1968 Memphis Sanitation Strike. The First Family will depart form the White House at 8:30 a.m. ET, and depart from Andrews Air Force Base at 8:45 a.m. ET, arriving at 10:50 a.m. ET in Alabama. At 11:10 a.m. ET, the President and First Lady will view damage from the recent storms, and meet with Gov. Robert Bentley (R-AL), state and local officials, and families affected by the storms. The First Family will depart from Alabama at 12:45 p.m. ET, and arrive at 2:10 p.m. ET in Cape Canaveral, Florida. They will tour the Kennedy Space Center's Orbiter Processing Facility at 2:45 p.m. ET. Then at 3:30 p.m. ET, they will view the launch of the space shuttle Endeavour. Obama will arrive in Miami, Florida, at 5:40 p.m. ET, and at 6:55 p.m. ET will deliver the commencement at Miami Dade College. He will depart from Miami at 9:05 p.m. ET, and arrive back at the White House at 11:30 p.m. ET.
Topics: 2012 elections, Alabama, Barack Obama, Debt Ceiling, Fundraising, Max Baucus, Nuclear Energy, Priorities USA, Robert Bentley, Roundup
Roundup
TPMDC Morning Roundup
Libya Questions Swirl As Obama Comes Home
CNN reports: "President Barack Obama is returning home to a firestorm of criticism over his handling of the crisis in Libya and mounting calls for a clearer explanation of U.S. policy in the war-torn North African nation...Critics on Capitol Hill and elsewhere are angry over what they consider inadequate administration consultation with Congress before the start of the military mission over the weekend. They also continue to have questions over the conflict's cost and consequences as well as the U.S. endgame."
Obama's Day Ahead
President Obama and Vice President Biden will meet for lunch at 12:45 p.m. ET. Obama will meet at 2:15 p.m. ET with Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner. In the afternoon, Obama will meet with his national security team to review efforts in Libya.
Topics: 2012 Presidential Primaries, 2012 elections, Barack Obama, Japan, Joe Biden, Libya, NATO, Nuclear Energy, Pres '12, Roundup
Nuclear Energy
Poll: Support For Nuclear Power Drops, Support For Oil Drilling Up
Tennessee Valley Authority nuclear plant
After the BP oil spill, Americans became increasingly wary of offshore drilling. Now, as Japan struggles to deal with an earthquake-damaged nuclear power plant, a new Pew poll shows a spike in opposition to nuclear power here in the U.S. -- while support for offshore drilling is making a comeback.
The two findings aren't necessarily related to each other, as support for offshore drilling began rising late last year. But the results suggest that, as was the case with the oil spill, an energy production disaster can quickly turn public opinion against that form of energy production.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: BP, Gulf Coast Oil Spill, Japan, Nuclear Energy, Offshore Drilling, Oil, Oil Spill, Polls
Roundup
TPMDC Saturday Roundup
Obama Promotes Trade With Latin America
In this weekend's YouTube address, President Obama promoted trade with Latin American countries, heading into his trip to the region.
"Latin America is a part of the world where the economy is growing very quickly. And as these markets grow, so does their demand for goods and services," said Obama. "The question is, Where are those goods and services going to come from? As President, I want to make sure these products are made in America. I want to open more markets around the world so that American companies can do more business and hire more of our people."
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Barack Obama, Brazil, Jaime Herrera Beutler, Japan, Libya, Nuclear Energy, Roundup, Warren Christopher
Roundup
TPMDC Morning Roundup
Congress To Buy More Time For Budget Dispute
Reuters reports: "The Congress is expected to buy itself more time on Thursday to work out a much-delayed budget deal as the costs of the stalemate are increasingly being felt across the globe. The Senate is expected to pass a sixth stopgap bill that would keep the government running through April 8, more than six months after the fiscal year began. The House of Representatives passed the measure on Tuesday. Republicans who control the House and Democrats who control the Senate need to resolve a $50 billion gap between their two spending plans."
Obama's Day Ahead
President Obama will receive the presidential daily briefing at 10 a.m. ET. President Obama and Vice President Biden will meet at 10:30 a.m. ET with Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny, and Obama and Kenny will deliver statements to the press at 11:05 a.m. ET. Then at 12 p.m. ET, Obama, Biden and Kenny will attend a St. Patrick's Day lunch. At 7:05 p.m. ET, the President and First Lady will host a St. Patrick's Day reception, which Biden will also attend.
Topics: 2012 elections, Barack Obama, Budget, Continuing Resolution, Earmarks, Japan, Nuclear Energy, Pres '12, RNC, Reince Priebus, Roundup
Nuclear Energy
Boehner: The United States Should Be More Like France -- When It Comes To Nuclear Energy
House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH)
Reacting to the nuclear meltdown crisis playing out in Japan, House Speaker John Boehner told an audience at a job creation forum Wednesday that the United States should and will learn lessons from the tragedy. But in the meantime, the country should aim to increase its reliance on nuclear energy -- much like France.
"I don't think there's any question that there are a lot of lessons to be learned by what's happening in Japan, and there's no question we will learn from that," Boehner said.
But there are nuclear reactors operating all over the world. Eighty-two percent of the electricity produced in France comes from nuclear sources, and has done so successfully for decades. Only 20 percent of the electricity in the United States comes from nuclear sources.PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)So I think let's learn the lessons, let's understand what safeguards if any additional safeguards need to be put in place. But let's not just say like we have for the last 30 years, we're not even going to look at it because we're afraid of it.
Topics: France, Japan, John Boehner, Nuclear Energy, Socialism
Nuclear Energy
Markey Calls On U.S. To Dispense Anti-Radiation Pills
Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA)
Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA) is calling on the U.S. government to require residents within 20 miles of a nuclear plant to have iodine tablets on hand as sales of the pills in the U.S. and Canada soar in response to the nuclear explosion at the Fukushima Daiichi plant.
It's been 22 years since scientists recommended implementing the tablet policy after the Three Mile Island incident, Markey said.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Budget, Ed Markey, Energy Department, Fred Upton, House Democrats, House Energy & Commerce Committee, House Republicans, Japan, Joe Barton, Nuclear Energy, Steven Chu
Nuclear Energy
Could House Restore Nuclear Safety Funding?
U.S. lawmakers are sticking to their past support for nuclear power despite Japan's ongoing crisis, but the disaster could put the kibosh on proposed funding cuts to nuclear safety programs in America.
Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) has called on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, where he is the ranking minority member, to hold hearings on nuclear safety, and National Journal quotes a Republican aide saying that there will a budget hearing on the issue in the wake of Japan. The Republicans' proposed bill funding the government through September would cut $131 million from the Department of Energy's Office of Nuclear Energy as well as $1.4 billion from emergency response training to chemical and radioactive disasters.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: 112th Congress, Henry Waxman, Japan, Lindsey Graham, Nuclear Energy
Libya
White House Lays Out New Option on Libya
As Muammar Qaddafi's forces push east and bare down on opposition rebels, the White House continues to deflect calls for a no-fly zone in Libya, instead offering up an entirely new option Tuesday.
White House spokesman Jay Carney said the U.S. is trying to find ways to free up some of billions of dollars of assets seized from the Libyan leader's government to provide help for the opposition. He was short on details about the plan as reporters peppered him with questions about whether the tide has already turned in Qaddafi's favor.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Japan, Jay Carney, Libya, Muammar Qaddafi, NATO, Nuclear Energy, State Department, Tsunami, no-fly zone
Eric Cantor
Eric Cantor: Don't Borrow From Japan to Aid Japan
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA)
Eric Cantor (R-VA) pushed aside criticism on Monday that GOP budget cuts would compromise America's ability to detect a Japan-style tsunami and help allies like Japan with their own disasters.
The president of the National Weather Service Employees Organization warned last week that the Republican House's spending plan would cut funding for NOAA by $450 million from President Obama's proposed budget, potentially requiring furloughs at tsunami watch centers. Cantor was asked at his weekly press briefing about the funding as well as cuts to USAID, which provides relief to disaster areas.
"I mean, essentially what you're saying is go borrow from the Japanese so we can go and spend it to help the Japanese," Cantor told reporters.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Eric Cantor, Japan, Nuclear Energy
Japan
Japan's Nuclear Aftershocks Hit Obama's Energy Policy
Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Gregory Jaczko
President Obama's plan to overhaul the nation's energy policy, already beset by strong GOP opposition in Congress and the BP oil spill, is facing a new setback as Japan struggles to prevent multiple nuclear reactor meltdowns in the aftermath of Friday's devastating earthquake and tsunami.
The President's call for the government to support a new generation of nuclear power plants as part of his "clean energy" agenda is under intense new scrutiny since several nuclear reactors at multiple power plants in Japan were stricken by a cascading series of natural disasters and other failures.
Topics: Barack Obama, Energy, Japan, Jay Carney, Nuclear Energy, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Tsunami
Roundup
TPMDC Morning Roundup
U.S. Nuclear Industry Faces New Uncertainty
The New York Times reports: "The fragile bipartisan consensus that nuclear power offers a big piece of the answer to America's energy and global warming challenges may have evaporated as quickly as confidence in Japan's crippled nuclear reactors."
Obama's Day Ahead
At 10:20 a.m. ET, President Obama will visit a classroom in Arlington, Virginia, and deliver a speech on education reform at 10:40 a.m. ET. He will meet with senior advisers at the White House at 11:55 a.m. ET. He will meet at 1:45 p.m. ET with Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen, and they will deliver statements to the press at 2:25 p.m. ET. Obama will meet at 3 p.m. ET with General David Petraeus. At 7:30 p.m. ET, he will attend a DNC fundraising event at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Topics: 2012 elections, Barack Obama, Budget, Continuing Resolution, Education, Muslims, No Child Left Behind Act, Nuclear Energy, Peter King, Pres '12, Roundup
TPMDC Sunday Roundup
Lieberman: 'Put The Brakes' On New Nuke Plants
Appearing on Face The Nation, Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) called for a delay in setting up new nuclear power plants in the United States, in light of the ongoing earthquake crisis in Japan. "The reality is that we're watching something unfold," said Lieberman. "We don't know where it's going with regard to the nuclear power plants in Japan right now. I think it calls on us here in the U.S. - naturally not to stop building nuclear power plants, but to put the brakes on right now until we understand the ramifications of what's happened in Japan."
McConnell: Environmental Catastrophe Not 'A Very Good Time' To Make Energy Policy
Appearing on Fox News Sunday, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) defended nuclear power, saying that the United States should not back away from it in the wake of the earthquake in Japan. "This discussion reminds me, somewhat, of the conversations that were going on after the BP oil spill last year," said McConnell. "I don't think right after a major environmental catastrophe is a very good time to be making American domestic policy."
Topics: 2012 Presidential Primaries, 2012 elections, Budget, Continuing Resolution, Government Shutdown, Japan, Joe Lieberman, Jon Kyl, Kevin McCarthy, Mitch Daniels, Mitch McConnell, Nuclear Energy, Pres '12, Sunday Shows
Egypt
John Bolton: 'I Think ElBaradei Is A Dilettante'
John Bolton
John Bolton, who served at the ambassador to the United Nations under George W. Bush, visited On the Record With Greta Van Susteren to talk about about the ongoing protests in Egypt.
The wisdom that he brought to the discussion? That opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate who headed the International Atomic Energy Agency for 12 years, is "a dilettante."
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: 2012, 2012 Presidential Primaries, 2012 elections, Egypt, John Bolton, Mohamed ElBaradei, Nuclear Energy, Nuclear nonproliferation
Nuclear Energy
New Treaty Opens Russia to American Nuclear Industry
Tennessee Valley Authority nuclear plant
A recently implemented American-Russian nuclear agreement will pave the way for joint energy projects around the world -- including the transport of nuclear waste to cash-hungry Russia.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Idea Lab, Nuclear Energy, Russia, TPMTech
NV-SEN
Reid Ad: Angle Wants To Bring Millions Of Pounds Of Nuclear Waste To Nevada (VIDEO)
Campaign ad from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV): "Yucca"
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has a new TV ad against Republican nominee Sharron Angle, with a simple message for the state's voters: Angle's support for a nuclear waste facility at Yucca Mountain could destroy our entire state.
The ad shows a parade of nuclear waste trucks rolling by, accompanied by scary music. "Each year, five-million pounds of radioactive nuclear waste are disposed of in the U.S.," the announcer says. "Sharron Angle wants to bring all five million pounds here, for reprocessing in Nevada. But one nuclear spill could endanger our families, and kill Las Vegas tourism forever."
The ad then cuts to a frightening image of an oil-soaked pelican, presumably from the BP oil spill: "And we all know how devastating one spill can be."
The TPM Poll Average currently puts Reid ahead by 47.6%-44.3%.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: 2010 elections, Harry Reid, NV-SEN, Nuclear Energy, Senate '10, Sharron Angle, Yucca Mountain
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
Progressive Senators On Climate: 'We Accept Nuclear Power As Part Of The Solution'
Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA)
The progressive Senators tasked with guiding a climate change bill through the back-logged Senate say they're ready to grease the legislative wheels with nuclear power. Speaking at the Progressive Media Summit this afternoon, Senators said it was time to embrace the atom as the key to comprehensive climate change legislation this year.
"I happen to be one of the Senators who's concerned about waste," Barbara Boxer (D-CA) said. "But most progressives in the Senate believe nuclear power is part of the solution at this time."
Boxer was joined on the dais by Senators Bingaman (NM), Ben Cardin (MD) and Jeanne Shaheen (NH).
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Barbara Boxer, Climate Change, Nuclear Energy
Roundup
TPMDC Morning Roundup
Obama Unveils $3.83 Trillion Budget, With Massive Deficit
President Obama is officially unveiling today a $3.83 trillion federal budget, which would combine spending to deal with unemployment with a freeze on various government programs, and higher taxes on the wealthy by letting the Bush tax cuts of 2001 and 2003 expire on families making more than $250,000 per year. The projected deficit would be a $1.56 trillion, due to both high government spending and a decline in revenues because of the bad economy.
Obama's Day Ahead
President Obama will receive the presidential daily briefing at 10 a.m. ET. He will deliver remarks on the budget at 10;45 a.m. ET. He will meet with senior advisers at 11:45 a.m. ET. He will participate in a YouTube interview at 1:45 p.m. ET, answering questions that were submitted by YouTube users during and after the State of the Union address, and voted on by YouTube users. At 4:30 p.m. ET, Obama and Vice President Biden will meet with Secretary of Defense Robert Gates.
Topics: 2010 elections, Afghanistan, Barack Obama, Budget, Climate Change, DSCC, Joe Biden, John McCain, Lindsey Graham, Nuclear Energy, Roundup, Senate '10
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