State of the Union Address, President’s Budget Reaffirm Focus on Energy and Climate Change

Posted by Scott Laeser on February 3rd, 2010 in Climate Change

As the 2010 legislative session kicks into gear, President Obama has reaffirmed his Administration’s goal to see comprehensive climate change and clean energy legislation to the finish line.  In his State of the Union Address, the President discussed the importance  of this legislation in the context of jobs:  “But to create more of these clean energy jobs, we need more production, more efficiency, more incentives.  And that means… passing a comprehensive energy and climate bill with incentives that will finally make clean energy the profitable kind of energy in America.”

Senator Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican working with Senators John Kerry and Joe Lieberman to find a bipartisan legislative compromise, also reaffirmed his commitment to passing comprehensive energy and climate legislation, telling a group of renewable energy business leaders “…if the approach is to try to pass some half-assed energy bill and say that is moving the ball down the road, forget it with me.”  The fate of legislation is still very much in limbo, but these are positive signs that the President and legislators are making a push to move legislation this year, despite the looming fall elections.

And in the recently released budget proposal for 2011, the Administration increased funding for energy efficiency and climate change programs at the EPA, the Interior Department, and the Department of Energy, even in the face of budget cuts to other programs at those Agencies.  TU will be looking closely at the budget in the coming weeks with an eye towards both energy and climate programs and ecosystem, fish, and wildlife funding priorities.  As the federal government continues to grapple with the daunting task of transitioning to a cleaner energy future and adjusting ecosystem, fish, and wildlife management priorities to deal with the impacts of climate change,  we’ll be working with agencies like the Department of Interior to be sure that actions like expanding renewable energy development on federal lands are done without compromising valuable fish and wildlife habitat.

To see the 2011 Budget:  http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/

EPA Budget:  http://www.epa.gov/budget/

DOI Budget:  http://www.doi.gov/budget/