Obama-Republican energy deals likely: Former official tells Platts Energy Week
Washington - November 8, 2010
Also, TV program highlights election impact on energy sectors and national energy policy
The White House and a new Republican majority in the US House of Representatives may find that energy is one issue where they can reach a consensus next year, a former Republican House chairman said Sunday on Platts Energy Week television.
Jim Nussle, who chaired the House Budget Committee from 1991 to 2007, said on the all-energy news program that President Barack Obama and Ohio Republican John Boehner, the likely next House speaker, will look for issues on which they can strike deals, much like Republicans and former President Bill Clinton did after the GOP took control of the House in 1994. View Nussle interview at this link.
"Both sides have kind of taken positions on a number of issues -- deficits, taxes, things like that -- that cause them to go to their [political] bases, if you will," Nussle said.
"But energy is an area where I think you can find consensus in a number of areas, like nuclear, clean coal and renewable energies, things like that which I believe they will strive to search for if they want to be successful."
Nussle, who last week was named president of Growth Energy, an ethanol lobby group, said he detects the potential for "a good relationship" between Obama and Boehner.
"They have a relationship where they've learned to talk with one another. Sometimes they talk past each other, but I believe in this new relationship there's already a personal rapport that I've seen that I believe they can use to their advantage," Nussle said.
Nussle said the Republican choice for chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee is uncertain, though he added he did not think the panel's current senior Republican, Joe Barton of Texas, would obtain a waiver he needs to take the top seat.
House Republican caucus rules limit members to three two-year terms as a committee leader, and Barton has already served three terms as either the energy panel's chairman or ranking member since 2004.
"I think he will be term-limited," Nussle said of Barton.
But Nussle said he sees no front runner among three other Republicans who have announced their interest in becoming head of the committee, one of the most powerful panels in the House. They are Representatives Fred Upton of Michigan, Cliff Stearns of Florida and John Shimkus of Illinois.
"All three have some great positives and all three have some challenges they have to overcome if they're going to get the job," Nussle said.
In a program segment "Resetting the Political Balance," Platts Energy Week host Bill Loveless examines the potential political, financial and environmental impact of the U.S. elections on energy policy with Kevin Book, managing director of research at ClearView Energy Partners; Laura Lovelace, president of the Wellford Energy Advisors; and Frank O’Donnell, president of Clean Air Watch.
As for how individual energy industries will fare in the wake of the elections, Loveless spoke with Denise Bode, chief executive officer of the American Wind Energy Association; Alex Flint, senior vice president of government affairs at the Nuclear Energy Institute; and Joe Nipper, senior vice president of government affairs at the American Public Power Association. Click here for this industry sector discussion.
To hear Sunday’s “Market Spotlight,” where Bill Loveless reflects on how the U.S. elections may affect a national energy policy and asks for your comments, click here.
Platts Energy Week
airs weekly at 8 a.m. Eastern time on Sunday mornings on W*USA TV 9 in Washington, D.C. and at 7:30 p.m. Central time on Mondays on KHOU 11.2 (Comcast 310) in Houston. The program is also available online at http://www.plattsenergyweektv.com shortly thereafter. The program follows an interview format featuring guests from the Obama administration, Congress, government agencies, think tanks, the investment community and the energy industry.Host Bill Loveless, long-time chief editor of Platts’ Inside Energy, brings nearly three decades of energy journalism experience to the anchor chair.
Program information, special news features, advertising contacts and more can be found at www.plattsenergyweektv.com. Guest booking and related inquiries should be addressed to this email box: plattsenergyweektv@platts.com.
Platts Energy Week is produced by Platts, the world’s leading source of information and intelligence on energy and related commodities and a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies [NYSE: MHP], and W*USA 9TV, the Washington, D.C., CBS affiliate and flagship television station of Gannett Co. [NYSE: GCI]. While the program is U.S. focused and produced in Washington, it reflects the global vantage point of Platts, whose correspondents are stationed in such major capitals as London, Dubai, Singapore, Tokyo and Moscow.
Additional information about Platts and the energy sector can be found at the Platts website at www.platts.com. For more on W*USA 9 News Now, visit the W*USA website at www.wusa9.com.
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