Merkley hopes to put his stamp on energy policy

 

WASHINGTON — Sen. Jeff Merkley has positioned himself to play a potentially pivotal role on clean-energy legislation that Senate Democrats hope to consider this summer.

The caucus will meet privately today to consider what course to take to reduce the nation's dependence on fossil fuels, which environmentalists say is having a global impact on the climate.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says he wants a clean-energy bill to pass this summer, but a clear consensus has not emerged about what to do.

The House approved sweeping climate-change legislation a year ago that would regulate industrial carbon dioxide emissions. Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., and Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., have co-authored similar "cap-and-trade" legislation but acknowledge that they don't have the votes to pass it.

The Senate Energy Committee has proposed an alternative that provides industry incentives to promote alternative energy use, but environmental advocates say it does too little.

Enter Merkley.

The Oregon Democrat on Monday unveiled an aggressive energy conservation plan that he claims would allow the U.S. to wean itself off foreign oil in two decades. The plan relies heavily on boosting electric cars and mass transit.

"Certainly this will be a very significant caucus, and hopefully we will have the caucus come together around a more aggressive efficiency strategy," Merkley said.

Merkley unveiled his plan during a speech at the Center for American Progress, saying it would save 8.3 million barrels of oil per day — more than the 7 million barrels that the U.S. imports daily from overseas.

On Tuesday, Merkley hosted a press conference in the Capitol, where the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy released a report calling on senators to consider aggressive energy efficiencies in whatever energy bill they consider.

"If they really juice up and expand efficiency, we can get real benefits," said Steven Nadel, executive director of the council.

Merkley is proposing a greater investment in electric vehicles, particularly in developing better batteries and the infrastructure to get those batteries recharged. The nation also needs to improve the efficiency of trucks and encourage more cargo to be shipped by rail, he said.

Merkley also thinks that a NASA-like administration is needed to provide the leadership needed to turn goals into realities.

The National Council on Energy Security could be a game-changer, according to David Roberts, a writer for Grist magazine, which focuses on the environment.

"The NCES would ensure that energy goals don't get lost from administration to administration," he wrote. "They would monitor progress, determine whether things could be moving faster, and make recommendations to the president and Congress. This, more than anything else, would count as elevating oil reduction to genuine national priority."

Merkley, who's in his first Senate term, he has emerged as a leader on energy conservation, said Frank Maisano, an energy expert with Bracewell & Giuliani, a law firm in Washington, D.C.

"He has inserted himself into that position," Maisano said.

Merkley has sponsored legislation to promote energy-efficient homes and commercial buildings as well as loan guarantee programs for rural power suppliers to shift away from coal or oil to geothermal or biomass fuels to generate electricity, he said.

"These are the types of programs that have wide bipartisan support and make sense," Maisano said. "They are going to be a big and important part of what this Congress can do once they come to the realization that the votes just aren't there for Kerry-Lieberman."

Contact Peter Urban at purban@gannett.com

Copyright ©2010  To subscribe or visit go to:  http://www.statesmanjournal.com