DC Hill Update 5/24/10: Murkowski Dirty Air Act threat persists

Last week, the Senate passed Wall Street reform which is expected to be conferenced with the House legislation and signed into law in the coming week. After Memorial Day recess, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) hopes to unite his caucus around an energy bill capable of attracting 60 votes. This week, the climate community continues fight against Senator Lisa Murkowski's (R-AK) "Dirty Air Act," which threatens to block the Clean Air Act from regulating carbon emissions.

Senate Timeline

• 5/29-6/6: Memorial Day Recess
• Week of 7/7: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid meets with relevant committee chairs to chart a path forward on "energy-related" legislation.
• 6/3-7/11: Independence Day Recess

Murkowski's Dirty Air Act, Still a Threat Until June 7th

Senator Murkowski’s Dirty Air Act could come to a vote this week, or on Monday, June 7th; Murkowski continues to push for a vote. Months ago, Senator Murkowski introduced an extreme piece of legislation that would scrap the science-based "endangerment" finding allowing the EPA to use the Clean Air Act to begin regulating greenhouse gasses. Her "resolution of disapproval" comes with 41 co-sponsors, and only needs 51 votes to pass. It can be forced to vote at any time between now and June 7th. The anticipated Dirty Air Act vote will most likely be this week, or on June 7th itself.

1Sky is continuing to mobilize its network in opposition to the Dirty Air Act throughout the week. Call to your senators toll free, or send a message via our website. For more information on the Dirty Air Act, check out USCAN's site.

Reid to focus on Energy and Climate, Week of June 7th

Senate Majority Leader Reid said he will be talking about "nothing but energy" once senators return from recess on June 7th. He plans to meet with climate committee chairs in early July to forge a consensus on the path forward for "energy-related matters."

In the aftermath of their bill release, Senators John Kerry (D-MA) and Joe Lieberman (I-CT) have been waiting for leadership from from President Obama and Majority Leader Reid as to how the Senate will proceed on climate and energy legislation. Many climate advocacy groups including 1Sky have been critical of President Obama's relative inaction at this key moment.

With Wall Street reform passed, senators have the ability to focus on next steps for energy, which will likely involve some combination of the Kerry-Lieberman discussion draft, and "ACELA" (S.1462) passed out of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee last spring, a bill that 1Sky and others opposed.

Wall Street Reform Passes

The bipartisan Wall Street reform bill passed 59-38 last week. The bill attracted final votes from 4 Republicans, but lost 2 Democrats who didn't think the bill went far enough to crack down on wall street abuses. With Wall Street reform wrapping up, the Senate will have space in the calendar to consider climate and energy after Memorial Day recess.

Drilling Disaster Continues to Ravage the Gulf

NY Times columnists Thomas Friedman and Bob Herbert point fingers at Obama and other leaders for not addressing the BP Gulf oil spill crisis appropriately. Looking at the Senate debate on raising the liability cap for offshore drilling, David Roberts argues that Big Oil has also become too big to fail:

The potential damage from offshore oil accidents is so great that no private industry can assume the full risk.

More recently, the New York Times is reporting that some permits for new drilling continue to be granted, despite the moratorium announced by the Obama Administration weeks ago.

Prepared by Jason Kowalski, 1Sky Policy Coordinator. Please direct questions or comments to jason@1sky.org.