Overnight Energy — Sponsored by the National Biodiesel Board — Key Dem backs Green New Deal | Activists protest fossil fuel presentation at climate meeting | Judge won't allow 'preconstruction' work on Keystone XL

2018年12月10日星期一

Overnight Energy — Sponsored by the National Biodiesel Board — Key Dem backs Green New Deal | Activists protest fossil fuel presentation at climate meeting | Judge won't allow 'preconstruction' work on Keystone XL

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NEW BACKER FOR GREEN DEAL: Environmentalists got a powerful lawmaker to back their Green New Deal proposal to transition the country to 100 percent renewable energy.

Hundreds of protesters with the Sunrise Movement went to the offices of leading House Democrats Monday, and got Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), the likely next chairman of the Rules Committee, to back their proposal for a select committee charged with writing Green New Deal legislation.

"The answer is yes," he told protesters outside his Capitol Hill office after he was asked his position on Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's (D-N.Y.) resolution.

McGovern's endorsement is key, because the Rules Committee will have to approve any proposal for a select committee before the full House does. He said he hopes to create the committee on Jan. 3, the day the House is sworn in and the day Democrats will vote on the rules to govern the next two years for the chamber.

McGovern went on to say that he wants to ensure that existing committees still have authority to review whatever legislation comes out of the new panel.

"We have some really good members of Congress who are on the Energy and Commerce Committee, and who are on Ways and Means, which would do the stuff. They're committed to this stuff as well. I think the controversy comes down to when you're going to say, 'we're going to take away their jurisdiction.' We're not saying that at all," he said.

"We're saying this select committee, you know, will come up with ideas, but it will go through the committees of jurisdiction."

McGovern later clarified to The Hill that while he supports forming a House select committee, he still wants to see details hammered out on what protesters are specifically calling for in terms of their plan.

"As I pointed out to them, their special select committee is evolving, it's changing. So I support a special select committee. But we need to work out the details, and I think we will, and it will be something that, you know, I think will help elevate this issue and focus attention on solutions," McGovern said.

The protests: Protesters also targeted the offices of the likely incoming Speaker, Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), and the next Majority Leader, Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.).

Most of the hundreds of protesters moved out of the hallways when asked, but officers ended up arresting 138 for not moving, the Capitol Police said.

HOUSE PASSES OFFSHORE WIND BILL FOR TERRITORIES: The House passed a bill Monday to allow the Interior Department to lease waters near United States territories for offshore wind turbines.

The bipartisan Offshore Wind for Territories Act passed by voice vote. It would put territories like the U.S. Virgin Islands and Guam on a similar level to states for offshore wind purposes, including the process of evaluating, leasing and managing offshore wind farms.

"Too often, Americans in the U.S. territories are our forgotten citizens. The Offshore Wind for Territories Act empowers U.S. territories such as Guam and Puerto Rico to tap their offshore resources and strengthen their energy security, all while providing jobs and economic growth for hardworking Americans," Randall Luthi, president of the National Ocean Industries Association, said in a statement.

The United States only has one utility-scale offshore wind farm, but none in federal waters. Deepwater Wind, off the coast of Rhode Island, is in state waters.