Inhofe EPW News Roundup

Link to Inhofe EPW Press Blog Greenwire: Inspirational' Democratic meeting yields no Senate game plan - Senate Democrats left their latest round of energy and climate talks with what they hailed as a renewed sense of unity -- and little else. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and other party leaders called this afternoon's meeting "inspirational," "powerful" and even "thrilling" but conceded that Democrats had yet to rally around any of the legislative proposals currently on the table.

---

Mother Jones: Dems On Energy Package: Lots of Enthusiasm, Few Actual Details - Senate Democrats emerged from today's caucus meeting with little in the way of clarity on what their energy package might look like. But they were determined, however, to use the issue as a bludgeon against Republicans. Senators described a meeting in which caucus members were united in enthusiasm for passing an energy package, but they also said not many specifics were discussed. John Kerry (D-Mass.) described the meeting as "inspirational." Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) said it was "an uprising of rank and file members of the caucus." "A number of senators said this was the best caucus they've ever attended," Majority Leader Harry Reid. But no one could say exactly what a package would look like on energy, climate, or the oil spill. The Hill: Dems short on details but pledge unity on energy ahead of White House meeting - Senate Democrats emerged from a caucus meeting Thursday afternoon with a political message that they're jazzed up about moving ahead with an aggressive energy bill, but major questions about the shape of the package remain unanswered. Their talks come days before a pivotal White House meeting next week between President Barack Obama and a bipartisan group of senators on energy legislation that Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) hopes to bring to the floor next month. Several senior Democrats spoke only in broad strokes and slogans about their plans, but uniformly praised the meeting and claimed momentum. "It was inspirational, quite frankly," Reid said. WSJ: Democrats Still Divided on Energy Bill - But a number of lawmakers in the Democratic caucus are reluctant, as they are concerned about damage to their own regions. "There's a lot of votes that aren't coming until we get manufacturing right," and "I don't know that utility-only answers those questions," Sen. Sherrod Brown (D., Ohio) told reporters. Manufacturers are heavy users of electricity. "I think that when we get into any kind of cap and trade, we need to have a sober assessment of where the votes are," Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D., N.M.) cautioned before the caucus meeting. ChicagoTribune: Senate Dems vow action on energy bill - Senators called the meeting "motivating" and "almost like a little revival - a lot of clapping, a lot of yelling" as one speaker after another voiced a desire to debate the thorny issue."It's one of the best caucuses I've seen and I've been here over 25 years," said Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ). "There is an incredible moment in front of us that has in many ways unified the public -- and that is how do we stop the terrible thing that happened in the gulf from being repeated," he said. "Even if we lose, we carry a message that has meaning." What remains to be seen are the details of a bill that Senate leaders plan to craft from various measures and whether it would contain a provision to cap carbon - essentially a tax on polluters. Senators spoke repeatedly of the need for legislation that, as Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Ct.) put it, "makes polluters pay" - which has emerged as a new way of framing the issue of carbon pricing. Any legislation still faces an uphill climb as even Democratic senators are loathe to be seen as proposing a tax or sweeping government regulation as the midterm elections approach. Republicans are fighting any such plan.

---