May 04, 2009

Capitol Hotline (May 4)

Obama Enters House Climate Debate, Specter Switches Parties, Obama's First 100 Days, MEF Concludes, Ice-Melting Soot, Insurance Industry in Climate Negotiations

USCAN Capitol Hotline

May 4, 2009

In this issue In this issue

Hot Topic of the Week

Obama to Enter House Climate Bill Debate

USCAN Member Action Alert
New Member-Only Resources
Inside the Beltway

Specter Switches Parties
Obama's First 100 Days
Major Economies Forum Concludes

Outside the Beltway

o Arctic Nations to Reduce Ice-Melting Soot

o Insurance Industry Involved in Climate Negotiations

Capitol Hill Events

Other Headlines

Hot Topic of the Week

Obama to Enter House Climate Bill Debate

President Obama will meet with House Democrats tomorrow at the White House to discuss clean energy and climate legislation. The session comes at a critical juncture for Obama's energy and environmental agenda as the Energy and Commerce committee is working to mark up their bill in subcommittee this week. Some environmentalists and committee members last week began clamoring for Obama to take a more public stance on global warming "I hope we'll hear more from him on this topic," Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) said Thursday. "I think now would be a very good time."

At an Earth Day speech in Iowa, the President said that this draft legislation written by Representatives Waxman (D-CA) and Markey (D-MA) is in line with the administration's energy and climate policy views. In preparation for tomorrow's visit, Carol Browner and David Axelrod, Obama's top political and energy advisers, held meetings on the Hill with key House and Senate committee members and staff who are working on the bill. Last week, White House officials worked behind the scenes to lay the groundwork for Obama's entrance into the debate by focusing the meetings on climate messaging, connecting clean energy policy with national security and economic growth. "The discussion was ... related to making the connection that good global warming policy is good economic policy," said Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who attended one of the meetings.

Both Representatives Waxman and Markey have pledged to finish their work on the climate and energy legislation before the Memorial Day recess. We could see a mark up in subcommittee as early as this Wednesday. Read more at E&E (sub req'd)

USCAN Member Action Alert

Waxman Markey Draft - Talking Points, 1-800 Number Available; Business Engagement Being Planned

Organizations are in full- swing to prepare for the subcommittee and full committee votes on the Waxman Markey draft legislation. Just a few of the highlights: First, a number of communicators have come together to work on shared talking points with regard to the bill. Second, Environment America has made available a nonbranded phone number that allows people all across America to call their members of Congress in support of the American Clean Energy and Security Act (877-666-3394), which is scheduled to stay live through the committee markup. Finally, a number of organizations are working together to make sure businesses are on Capitol Hill regularly over the next few months supporting action on global warming. For information on any of these activities and others, contact Jennifer Kurz JKurz@climateNetwork.org.

Tell the EPA -- Global Warming Endangers Public Health and Welfare

Also, the EPA's proposed endangerment finding is a good opportunity to show public support for action on global warming. We encourage you to send the EPA large volumes of comments, from a variety of sources (businesses, religious organizations). Sample action alerts will be available soon. The community is also mobilizing for a large presence at the two hearings on the subject, Arlington, Virginia on May 18 and Seattle, Washington on May 21. For more information, contact me or Catherine Bowes at NWF (bowes@nwf.org), who is coordinating our community's mobilization.

Member-Only Resources

The following resources (talking points, sign-on letters, polling data, reports and more) were added to the member-area of the USCAN website recently. You must login to access them. Need an account? Register here.

Inside the Beltway

Specter Switches Parties

Last Tuesday in Washington D.C., Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania announced his defection from the GOP to join the Democratic Party. Specter said in a statement, "Since my election in 1980, as part of the Reagan Big Tent, the Republican Party has moved far to the right. Last year, more than 200,000 Republicans in Pennsylvania changed their registration to become Democrats. I now find my political philosophy more in line with Democrats than Republicans." Specter's switch has the potential to create a filibuster-proof 60 votes majority for Democrats, pending the resolution of the court case surrounding the election of Al Franken in Minnesota. Democratic committee leadership may also be reshaped due to Specter's seniority in the Senate. Read more at The Washington Post. As we look forward to further Congressional debate on climate legislation it is worth noting Senator Specter was absent from the Senate cloture vote on the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act last June.

Obama's First 100 Days

According to an ABC-Washington Post poll taken to mark the President's first 100 days in office, about two-thirds of American's believe Obama has already accomplished "a great deal" or "a good amount." Majorities of Americans also approve of how he is handling global warming, an issue the Obama administration has made a priority. Read more at ABC News

In a recent CBS-New York Times poll, 75% of Americans said it was "very" or "somewhat" likely that Obama would bring about significant reform in energy policy. Over two-thirds of Americans were "optimistic" about Obama's presidency. Read more at CBS News

Major Economies Forum Concludes

The State Department hosted the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate last week as a supplement to talks on an international climate treaty to be signed in Copenhagen this December. As stated in a press release from the U.S. State Department, "Participants shared the view that climate change is a clear and present danger to our world that demands immediate attention from all countries, and that the Major Economies Leaders Meeting in July should send a strong political signal to add momentum to the Copenhagen process and to collective efforts to achieve a low-carbon future. It was noted that all major economies are already taking actions in accordance with their common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities."

The meeting in Washington was the first of three scheduled among the 17 participating countries, who together account for about 75 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Read more at the New York Times

Outside the Beltway

Arctic Nations to Reduce Ice-Melting Soot

At the Arctic Council meeting last week, member nations agreed to reduce soot and other short-lived greenhouse gas emissions. Soot darkens arctic ice enabling it to absorb more heat and hasten melting. Members of the Council hope that cleaning the ice will allow harder to achieve cuts in carbon dioxide to have a greater impact under a post-Kyoto climate treaty. Read more at Reuters

Researchers warn that a strict planetary budget for fossil fuels is needed

The world must burn less than one-quarter of its remaining fossil fuel reserves if it is to avoid dangerous climate change, according to new research. Two studies published today in the journal Nature warn that the world must limit its total carbon dioxide emissions to about 1 trillion tons by 2050 to have the best chance at holding temperature rise below 2 degrees Celsius. Read more at Science Daily

Capitol Hill Events

May 5: Hearing on National Climate Service (House Sci & Tech)
May 5: Hearing on stimulus oversight (House Sci & Tech)
May 5: Hearing on Energy and Interior nominees (Senate ENR)
May 5: Hearing on implications of Arctic climate change (Senate FR)
May 5: Briefing on alternative transportation fuels part 2: tar sands, oil shale (EESI)
May 6: Hearing on Renewable Fuels Standard (House Ag Com)
May 6: Hearing on beneficial reuse of CO2 (Senate App)
May 6: Markup of transmission, financing, and nuclear bills (Senate ENR)
May 6: Geothermal showcase (Newseum)
May 7: Hearing on reauthorizing the Hazmat safety program (House Trans & Inf)
May 7: Hearing on cap-and-trade auctions (Senate Finance)
May 7: Hearing on cybersecurity bill (Senate ENR)
May 7: Hearing on small-scale electricity generation (Senate ENR)
May 7: Briefing on a strong cap on carbon pollution is needed- new findings by leading women scientist confirm urgency (NWF)

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Capitol Hotline (May 4)

Researchers warn that a strict planetary budget for fossil fuels is needed

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