Washington (Platts)--23Mar2009

US President Barack Obama is set to ramp up pressure this week to pass
his sweeping budget through Congress, starting Monday with a White House
speech highlighting billions of dollars in renewable and low-carbon technology
funding which he wants to enact.

In his weekly radio address Saturday, the president said he will devote
much of this week to getting the budget passed. He said that developing a new
generation of energy technologies to "finally put this nation on a path to a
clean, renewable energy future" is one of his primary goals.

"There is no longer a doubt that the jobs and industries of tomorrow will
involve harnessing renewable sources of energy," he said. "The only question
is whether America will lead that future. I believe we can and we will, and
that's why we've proposed a budget that makes clean energy the profitable kind
of energy, while investing in technologies like wind power and solar power,
advanced biofuels, clean coal and fuel-efficient cars and trucks that can be
built right here in America."

Obama introduced his 10-year budget blueprint last month and also passed
a $787-billion stimulus program with tens of billions of dollars in renewable
power and new transmission investment.

On the budget, he faces opposition to some of his key energy proposals in
Congress. The final budget is expected to come out next month.

The president seeks to raise taxes on the oil and gas industry and he
wants to enact an expansive carbon cap which, in part, would generate $15
billion in revenue per year to fund low-carbon energy development.

The White House has countered that the budget makes the Research and
Experimentation Tax Credit permanent with $75 billion over 10 years devoted to
that cause, allowing companies to develop and deploy new technologies.

The House Budget Committees is slated to vote on its budget resolution on
Wednesday. This committee and the Senate Budget Committee produce budget
resolutions which provide a blueprint for Congressional appropriators how and
where to spend trillions in taxpayer dollars. The Senate Budget Committee will
vote after the full House takes action.

The Democratic chairmen of both committees -- Representative John Spratt
of South Carolina and Senator Kent Conrad of North Dakota -- have expressed
their doubts about certain budget priorities. Conrad has been particularly
critical of the $31-billion oil and gas industry tax increases over the next
10 years.

Obama will deliver remarks at 12:30 pm EDT before a gathering of
renewable energy businessmen at the Eisenhower Old Executive Office Building.

--Alexander Duncan, alexander_duncan@platts.com