Prospects for movement on an energy bill this year seemed dim already, but now that Reid is talking about the next one, even more doomed.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Tuesday that attempts to tackle climate legislation in the next Congress should start with a “piecemeal” approach focused on electric power plants rather than a more sweeping proposal.
“I think we are looking to a time when we can get part of this done. We can’t get everything done at once,” Reid said....
Reid said Tuesday that he remains hopeful the Senate will complete work this year on a narrow energy bill that includes provisions to boost deployment of natural gas-powered trucks and rebates for home energy efficiency retrofits, dubbed “Homestar.”
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Reid acknowledged that would be far less than the broader energy measures the House has approved, but noted it is easier to advance bills in the House, where only a simple majority is needed. “The House is also going to have to get real,” Reid said of the need to accept narrower plans.
I'm sure members like Tom Perriello, who stuck his neck out as a freshman to vote for the House bill and is regularly being bashed for it now will love the advice from Reid to "get real." Pelosi must also be quite relieved to learn just how easy it is to get something passed in the House.
Nonetheless, Grist's David Roberts finds a small glimmer of hope in Reid's remarks, in which he also hinted he may still try to get a Renewable Electricity Standard (RES) into a bill this year.
Policy-wise, it should be a no-brainer. To date, U.S. clean energy industries have been supported, if at all, by tax credits, which tend to come and go contingent on the political atmosphere and the mood of the Ways and Means Committee....
An RES, even a modest RES, would be the first stable, long-term policy to support clean energy in the U.S. in, well, ever. It would enable serious long-term investor planning and spur some of the new infrastructure and industries America will need when we decide to get serious about climate change....
Is it popular? Any politician should be so popular. Last month in a Pew/National Journal poll a whopping 78 percent of respondents supported an RES, including 70 percent of Republicans and 77 percent of Independents. Requiring utilities to use more clean energy has been one of the most reliably popular energy policy options for years. The last few months have seen a stream of editorials, signed letters, and statements of support of the policy from prominent conservatives and industry groups.
Not many policies get this kind of bipartisan support these days. People are fond of saying energy should be a bipartisan issue and surely reasonable people can agree, etc. Well, here it is, happening.
Chances are still pretty slim of any movement on an energy bill, even on a small, popular and smart policy, so that glimmer of hope is flickering mightily. There's no incentive for Republicans to cooperate on anything at this point. But it might not be a bad political move to pick a fight with Republicans on a modest and extremely popular effort where the fight could energize a sizable part of the Dem base.