Brownback says handful or more Republicans in play on RES

By Darren Goode - 09/23/10 04:40 PM ET

Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) said a handful or more Republicans remain  in play as potential supporters of a new bipartisan renewable  electricity standard introduced this week.

Amid word Thursday that Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) became the fourth Republican cosponsor of the RES bill, Brownback is optimistic he can get more backing from his party for the bill he is spearheading with Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.).  

“I think we’ve got a couple others that we’re working on that I think  are reasonably good prospects,” Brownback told reporters.

Two other Republicans – Susan Collins of Maine and John Ensign of Nevada – are original cosponsors of the bill introduced Tuesday.   

Brownback is focusing solely on getting fellow Republicans to sign on to the legislation, which would require electricity companies to  produce 15 percent of their power from renewable energy sources like  wind, solar and biomass by 2021. A quarter of that mandate could also  come from energy efficiency efforts. It is very similar to a measure  that passed as part of a larger energy strategy in Bingaman’s panel  last year.

  Environmentalists have rallied behind the effort despite misgivings  that the bill is too weak, with some arguing it does not do more than  the status quo.  

Republicans, meanwhile, would like to see a broader array of energy  sources included in the mandate, including all nuclear power,  hydroelectricity and coal produced using carbon capture and storage  technology.

  But Bingaman “wants to keep it clean” because he “thinks he starts to then lose  votes and it gets a lot more complicated and less likely to pass” if  additional energy sources are included, Brownback said.   “I tried to get him to add ethanol,” Brownback added, referring to adding a section separate from the production mandate that extends tax credits for the fuel additive that expire at the end of this year and creates other biofuels incentives. “I think that  gets us another handful of votes” from farm-state senators, he said.  

Grassley also has said while he agrees with the substance of the  mandate, he would not vote for it on the Senate floor if Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) does not allow amendments to be  offered.  

Reid has said that if energy comes up this year it would be in a  post-election, lame-duck session that may not offer much of any time at  all for debate on an RES or other issues.

  Brownback said he is fine if amendments are not allowed if Reid  “doesn’t get cute with it.” That includes, he said, during any  bicameral talks with the House.   “I want that bill to go all the way through and no conferencing,” he  said. “If it starts looking like they’re going to antics play with it  you may not have any Republican votes.”  

His definition of “antics play”: not modifying the RES itself but  rather using it as a vehicle for something like a greenhouse gas  cap-and-trade plan or “social agenda items that we just saw this  week.”   Brownback presumably was referring to the failed vote this week to  repeal the "Don't ask, don't tell" policy as part of the 2011 defense  authorization bill.  

Asked whether he can convince Republicans like Grassley to vote for  the measure even if Reid does not allow amendments, Brownback said,  “Maybe if you added ethanol to it. That’ll get Grassley.”