Washington (Platts)--23Feb2009

US President Obama will discuss energy policy among several issues during
a speech to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night, White House Press
Secretary Robert Gibbs said Monday.

Obama's speech will come days before the administration submits a budget
outline to Congress that is expected to include further investment in
renewable power and the transmission grid in addition to tens of billions of
dollars already included in the $787-billion stimulus plan.

"I think you'll see real detail around what he's proposing, and I think
you'll see some real detail around the important investments that he believes
this country does have to continue to make, whether that's in healthcare, or
in education, or in making our country energy independent," he told the daily
White House briefing. "All of those things I think you'll see the president
discuss on Tuesday. And then I think you'll see detail wrapped around that on
Thursday."

Gibbs also discussed the possibility of getting climate change
legislation passed later in 2009, but would not commit to when the White House
would like to see a carbon cap bill signed into law.

The House of Representatives leadership has signaled that it wants
something by the end of 2009 and will combine an energy bill with a climate
change bill.

The Senate leadership has said it wants to tackle the two separately and
pass an energy bill before moving onto a carbon cap. It has not called for a
specific timetable for getting a climate bill passed.

The timing could be significant for international negotiations on a new
climate treaty. Climate negotiators from around the world will meet in
Copenhagen in December to craft a new treaty to replace the Kyoto Protocol
and many hope that if the US comes with its own cap-and-trade bill in hand,
that would speed negotiations.

"I don't know enough about the individual politics in each house and each
proposal to know if it's this year or next," Gibbs said, saying Obama simply
wants to work as fast as possible to get a climate bill passed.

"Whether that's this year or next year, both of us would agree that's a
big change that we would welcome," he said.

--Alexander Duncan, alexander_duncan@platts.com