Swing vote Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), advocates for bipartisan climate action while the Biden Administration is gradually eliminating inefficient lighting bulbs.
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Bipartisan lawmakers meet to discuss climate and energy
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), the Senates key swing vote, met with lawmakers from across the ideological spectrum Monday evening as part of a new push for bipartisan climate change legislation.
Sam Runyon, Manchin spokesperson, said via email to The Hill that the meeting was an attempt to gauge bipartisan support for a path forward that addressed our nation’s energy security and climate needs.
The latest: Manchin appeared to state Tuesday that the push does not mean that climate change provisions are coming out of a Democrat only reconciliation measure that lawmakers are negotiating.
No, no, no….people were talking to are as concerned about having reliable energy as they are about making sure that we do it better than anyone does it in the world, so climates gong to be a big factor, Manchin said when asked if the effort means that climate should come out of reconciliation.
But he also said that he knows that on energy, Im working with a team trying to find a Bipartisan Way that We Want to Move Forward. He was referring to Senate Majority leader Chuck Schumer (D.N.Y.).
And, Manchin said that the reconciliation bill should focus on fighting inflation and the deficit.
More information about the meeting: Monday’s meeting was first reported in NBC News. Manchin, who organized the meeting along with others, was first reported by NBC News. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), organized the meeting.
Hannah Ray, spokesperson for Murkowski, described the meeting in an email to The Hill as a high-level conversation on energy and climate.
Who was it all? According to a source, The Hill was informed by a familiar source that the other attendees were:
- Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif).
- Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.)
- Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii)
- Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.)
- Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.)
- Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.
- Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.)
The source said that there have been other Republicans involved.
Additional takeaways:
Khanna said in a statement to The Hill that passing bold climate legislation is my highest priority. He added that he was pleased that he could work with colleagues to find a way forward.
A spokesperson for Cramer directed The Hill to the senators comment to Politico that Manchin is genuinely interested in seeing whats possible and that Cramer shares the goal of America leading with innovation
Read about Manchin’s meeting hereand read more about what he had to say on reconciliationhere from The Hills Jordain Carney.
Energy approves final rule to phase out inefficient bulbs
The Biden administration has finalized a rule to phase out inefficient lightbulbs. This reverses a Trump-era policy.
The Biden administration has finalized two rules increasing efficiency standards for lightbulbs.
The new standards will ban the production and sale any new bulbs that do NOT emit a certain level light per watt electricity. This will eventually lead to the elimination of most incandescent or halogen bulbs.
The administration predicted that full implementation of the new standards could collectively save consumers around $3 billion per year and eliminate the equivalent to 28 million homes worth carbon emissions. Energy efficiency advocates have also predicted that each month that the standards are delayed could lead to an additional 800,000.t of carbon emissions.
Before the previous administrations move to roll back efficiency standards, the U.S. was set to ban most incandescent lightbulbs by 2020, a process that began in 2007 during the George W. Bush administration.
Learn more.
SOME WANTED MORE ROOM TO DRILL, BUT ALAS(KA)
The Biden administration is shrinking the amount of land eligible for drilling at an oil reserve in the Arctic.
Monday’s announcement from the Obama administration indicated that the government would return to a plan under which the government could lease up to 52 per cent of Alaska’s National Petroleum Reserve to oil and gas exploration. It reverses a Trump-era proposal that would have allowed the reserve to be opened up to 82 percent.
This move comes as the Biden Administration is struggling with high gasoline prices, Republican criticism over its energy policy, and Monday’s move is not expected have any immediate impact on gasoline prices at pump.
Companies can’t start production until a lease sale has been completed. This averages out to more than four years. The new decision is an additional step in the process. It designates which lands are eligible for leasing.
It’s not about oil. The amount of land available for lease has been reduced, but the Biden administration is also restoring protections in certain areas of environmental significance.
Teshekpuk Lake is one such area that will be protected. The Biden administration document stated that it was of critical importance for nesting and breeding waterfowl, as well as the Teshekpuk Caribou Herd.
Administration explained that its overall purpose was to protect the environment and allow energy development.
It said specifically that it provides greater protections for environment values and subsistence uses in NPR-A while still allowing exploration and development of oil and natural gas consistent with BLMs management responsibility.
What exactly is this reserve?
- Alaska’s National Petroleum Reserve is approximately 23 million acres on Alaska’s north slope.
- Harding, then-President of the United States, designated the area as an oil reserve for the Navy in 1923. Later, it was transferred to the bureau which can sell leases to companies that want to drill for oil in the area.
Find out more about the Biden administrations’ move here.
LAWMAKERS EYE MINERING REFORM
House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Ral Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) introduced legislation on Tuesday that aims to reform mining practices on public lands.
The legislation seeks to create a leasing system for mining instead of allowing claims. This is described by the lawmakers as a way of leveling the playing field between mining operations and other uses of public land like grazing and energy development.
It would also set environmental standards and require royalty payments.
WHAT WE’RE READING
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