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Axelrod: Oil spill adds urgency to passing energy and climate bill
The ongoing oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico should add urgency in
Congress to pass an energy and climate bill, White House senior advisor
David Axelrod said Monday.
Axelrod said the spill, from which
oil continues to pour into the Gulf, underscores the need for
developing alternative sources of energy.
"I would like to think
that this will increase the sense of urgency in Congress, because it
underscores the value in developing alternative sources of energy," the
senior advisor said during an appearance on MSNBC. "So I hope that it
will give added impetus to Congress to come up with and pass a
comprehensive plan."
The administration has been scrambling to
work with BP to end the spill, which threatens coastlines and
businesses from Texas to Florida.
Some supporters of the White House have made ties already
between the spill and legislation unveiled by Sens. John Kerry
(D-Mass.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), the "American Power Act." The
group Americans United for Change went after Republicans for their
relationship with oil companies like BP in a new television ad urging
passage of the act.
Axelrod said the administration would work hard to see that legislation or some other sort of bill become law.
"I'm hopeful that they will do that, and we're going to press very hard," he said.
