Senate Watch, 2011 Budget: Bennett, Feinstein, Graham, Inhofe, Kerry, Landrieu, Lieberman, Lincoln, Lugar, Sanders, Voinovich
Senators respond to the president’s budget, which does not assume any revenues from a cap-and-trade system, and allocates $56 million to the EPA for the implementation of greenhouse gas regulations.
Bob Bennett (R-Utah)Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.)E&E News This administration talks a good fight when it comes to wanting to increase our production of oil and gas. But every time they get a chance to back that up with dollars, they don’t.
Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.)E&E News I would support it [budget proposal for EPA greenhouse gas regulation]. There’s no question about greenhouse gas in my mind.
James Inhofe (R-Okla.)Politico We know the moving parts and getting the coalitions put together is what we’re working on. I’m pretty optimistic, quite frankly.
John Kerry (D-Mass.)E&E News Until such time as the lawsuits are filed … there may not be anything to do [to regulate greenhouse gases]. And so why fund something that doesn’t exist? That, in my opinion, is premature.
Mary Landrieu (D-La.)E&E News The White House is taking the right approach in calling for deficit-neutral legislation to reduce carbon emissions in the 2011 budget. As we continue to finalize legislation, it makes sense to avoid making revenue assumptions other than to specify that pollution reduction revenues should be used for climate-related purposes.
E&E News It is unfortunate that the administration has chosen to escalate the cost of producing energy in America. Raising the costs of domestically produced energy only accelerates our dependence on lower-cost foreign oil.
Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.)E&E News It was very politically controversial last time. I think it actually didn’t help us. So, I think it was honest budgeting.
Richard Lugar (R-Ind.)E&E News The farm bill is a contract with our farmers that they depend on to make business decisions. Changing the rules in the middle of the game would be detrimental to their operations and would cost us even more jobs in rural America. I thank the president for his recommendations, but Congress writes the budget.
Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.)E&E News It reflects the feeling that the odds are not in favor of the cap and trade, so wherever the revenue was supposed to go, it may not be existent. In terms of a sound budget system, the president may have felt, as hearings proceed, someone is going to say, ‘What do you mean by putting $650 billion in there?’ And that would be embarrassing to try to indicate how speculative, or what have you, that would be.
George Voinovich (R-Ohio)E&E News He has not funded [renewables] to that degree. Construction of new nuclear power may well be the most expensive way to go.
E&E News It’s a candid admission of what some folks thought was reality is not reality. Rather than count on revenue [from cap-and-trade] that’s hypothetical, he’s handling it a different way.