House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman met Thursday with Congressman Rick Boucher to talk over how the proposed carbon emission cap and trade rules will impact the manufacturing and coal mining sectors of the economy, and also with Congressman G. K. Butterfield to discuss proposed renewable electric power production mandates. Afterwards, Waxman softened his stance against a subcommittee markup of the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, saying "if we have a subcommittee markup it would be very limited ..."
On the other side of the Capitol, Senate Foreign Relations ranking member Richard Lugar spoke out against USEPA's proposed calculation of Brazilian rain forest deforestation into the carbon effects of American corn based ethanol, even though Heather Zichal, Obama's deputy assistant for energy and climate change, promised on Wednesday that EPA will conduct peer reviews of its analysis before final rulemaking on corn based ethanol. Lugar, former Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman, said: "That we are responsible as corn farmers for cutting down trees in Brazil is ridiculous and outrageous." Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Jeff Bingaman is delaying his committee work on permanent nuclear waste disposal sites and new electricity transmission grid locations, further delaying the actual construction of power production projects.
On the other side of the Capitol, Senate Foreign Relations ranking member Richard Lugar spoke out against USEPA's proposed calculation of Brazilian rain forest deforestation into the carbon effects of American corn based ethanol, even though Heather Zichal, Obama's deputy assistant for energy and climate change, promised on Wednesday that EPA will conduct peer reviews of its analysis before final rulemaking on corn based ethanol. Lugar, former Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman, said: "That we are responsible as corn farmers for cutting down trees in Brazil is ridiculous and outrageous." Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Jeff Bingaman is delaying his committee work on permanent nuclear waste disposal sites and new electricity transmission grid locations, further delaying the actual construction of power production projects.
Bingaman is also still in negotiations with Senator Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, Evan Bayh of Indiana and Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas over renewable electric power mandates in the Senate version of climate change legislation.
