“American Clean Energy and Security Act” on The Daily Caller

The Obama administration has set a target of having 80 percent of America’s electricity come from “clean energy sources” by 2035, but ironically one of the biggest obstacles to this goal could come from within the environmental movement itself. (more)

It is clear that voters across America sent Washington a message on Election Day. The pundits will debate the exact meaning of that message for weeks to come, but there can be no doubt that the state of our nation’s economy was at the top of their minds in the voting booth. Americans want more jobs, less spending and a sounder, saner fiscal policy. (more)

Tuesday’s election codified what polls and candidates have been espousing for months: that cap-and-trade and similar Democratic proposals are enormously unpopular amongst the American people. Of the nineteen freshman Democrats who voted for the Waxman-Markey legislation, twelve of them were sent packing. All in all, a total of 41 Democrats who voted for the bill either lost or retired. (more)

Last week, the good folks at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) released new polling data intended to show “how a yes vote on Waxman-Markey is affecting the reelection efforts of 23 House lawmakers,” according to Politico. (more)

The political winds do not bode well for renewable energy and climate change policy. (more)

Despite the many energy plans proposed over the past year—ranging from carbon caps to renewable energy standards to gas taxes—it seems unlikely that an energy bill will be passed this year. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) put the climate bill on hold until September, and by all accounts it will be nearly impossible to pass a comprehensive bill. Congress has realized that proposals like cap-and-trade or a federal renewable energy standard will not adequately address our country’s energy problems and will do more harm than good to the economy. (more)

In the final hours, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) accepted the inevitable: an energy package was simply not going to pass before the August recess. (more)

With less than two weeks until the August recess, the U.S. Senate has a lot on its plate. In addition to Supreme Court Justice nominee Elena Kagan’s hearing, the Senate will consider a number of bills covering topics ranging from taxes to food safety to my favorite topic, energy. (more)

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on Tuesday released a summary of the draft energy bill that Democrats hope to pass in the next week or so. You can read the full summary here. (more)

“This is a very bad day for us.” (more)

The August Congressional recess is quickly approaching, and Congressional leaders are in a madcap rush to pass an energy bill—any energy bill, it seems—before they head home to the districts. (more)

It’s a scorcher out there—not only for the hundreds of thousands of Americans who are experiencing a record heat wave, but for future electricity prices, as well. (more)

According to Democratic leaders in the Senate, the 60 votes needed to pass a climate bill may be a lot more difficult to come by than they originally thought. Last weekend, Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.), chair of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said, “If you actually have a bill that puts in place a cap-and-trade system or a limit on greenhouse gases and a mandatory reduction in greenhouse gases, I think it’s difficult to see where we get the 60 votes to pass that legislation.” (more)

It’s getting difficult to keep track of all the energy proposals that are on the table. We’ve got Sen. Jeff Bingaman’s (D-N.M.) original American Clean Energy Leadership Act, as well as the Waxman-Markey American Clean Energy and Security Act that passed the House last year with a 20 percent renewable energy standard and ambitious emissions cuts. Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) released their CLEAR Act with a cap-and-dividends program shortly before Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) released their American Power Act with a cap-and-trade program. Not to mention, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is attempting to get in the game with greenhouse gas regulations, and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and others are attempting to stop them. Who can keep track of all the legislative proposals in the chaos? (more)

In a last-ditch effort to pass a global-warming bill before this year’s mid-term election drastically alters the political landscape in Congress, Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) have introduced the “American Power Act.” (more)

There are only three things you need to know about the Kerry-Lieberman cap-and-trade bill that was released Wednesday—it will accomplish nothing for the environment; it will cost a lot of money and it will financially enrich and politically empower a host of scoundrels. (more)

Imagine that you’re the CEO of a multi-billion-dollar, publicly owned company and that you’ve been invited to testify before Congress along with several other of your fellow CEOs. Further imagine that, while you’re delivering your testimony, protesters are allowed to physically approach, disrupt and humiliate you—and no security personnel are there to intervene. And then they get away scot-free. (more)

High stakes, tall-odds, last-second heaves and long-shot upsets—to some, March Madness represents one of the most exciting events on the calendar, and among the most heavily wagered on as well. But who’s talking about basketball? On Capitol Hill, more than a dozen competing energy and environmental proposals are in the process of making their final case to the committee, and gearing up for a furious race to the finish in 2010. (more)

I must give the climate change lobby credit: they almost got away with it. (more)

Health care reform has been receiving all the headlines, yet Americans must stay informed of other measures moving through Congress, too. The U.S. Senate is currently debating climate-change legislation—an initiative that will cripple many small businesses. The legislation will increase utility bills and gas prices, creating additional burdens that consumers and small-business owners cannot bear during this tough economic period. (more)