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Reid lauds Obama’s energy push, but calls on Republicans for support
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on Tuesday night praised
President Barack Obama’s Oval
Office push for action on energy legislation, but warned that
success rests on GOP members coming aboard.
“I look forward to
working with the president to find a bipartisan path to passing
meaningful comprehensive clean-energy legislation this year,” Reid said
in a prepared statement.
Reid is gathering the Senate Democratic Conference for a meeting Thursday to discuss how to proceed on energy and — maybe — climate change provisions. He wants to bring a bill to the floor as soon as next month.
Reid is cobbling together a package of measures in response to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill — such as changes in industry liability and drilling rules — as well as provisions to curb oil reliance and boost alternative energy.
But it remains unclear if advocates of greenhouse gas limits can muster the traction to keep climate provisions in the mix.
Obama on Tuesday night said that the sweeping climate change and energy bill the House approved last year reflects his principles.
He stopped short, however, of explicitly repeating his calls for measures that would put a price on carbon dioxide, and said he is open to a range of energy policy ideas.
Here’s Obama Tuesday night:
When I was a candidate for this office, I laid out a set of principles that would move our country towards energy independence. Last year, the House of Representatives acted on these principles by passing a strong and comprehensive energy and climate bill — a bill that finally makes clean energy the profitable kind of energy for America’s businesses.
Now, there are costs associated with this transition. And there are some who believe that we can’t afford those costs right now. I say we can’t afford not to change how we produce and use energy — because the long-term costs to our economy, our national security, and our environment are far greater.
So I’m happy to look at other ideas and approaches from either party — as long they seriously tackle our addiction to fossil fuels. Some have suggested raising efficiency standards in our buildings like we did in our cars and trucks. Some believe we should set standards to ensure that more of our electricity comes from wind and solar power. Others wonder why the energy industry only spends a fraction of what the high-tech industry does on research and development — and want to rapidly boost our investments in such research and development.
All of these approaches have merit, and deserve a fair hearing in the months ahead. But the one approach I will not accept is inaction. The one answer I will not settle for is the idea that this challenge is somehow too big and too difficult to meet.
