What’s ahead for Washington
this week: Big Oil in the spotlight
By Jon H. Harsch
© Copyright Agri-Pulse Communications, Inc.
Washington, June 6 – Tuesday will decide another battle between party
purity and party loyalty, this time pitting Senate Ag Committee Chair Blanche
Lincoln (D-AR) against Arkansas Lt. Gov. Bill Halter in the Democratic primary
runoff. If Lincoln
loses her bid to run for a third Senate term, the result would reinforce the
growing expectation that the next Congress will be even more partisan, with
less toleration for moderates, than the present one.
Combine that
expectation of an even more divided Congress with the grim picture of worsening
economic and environmental disaster flowing from the BP blowout and it’s no
wonder that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) is pushing hard to bring a
climate & energy bill to the Senate floor this summer – rather than wait to
try to pass a climate bill in a more divided Congress next year. Sen.
Richard Lugar (R-IN) is moving in the same direction. On Wednesday, he’ll
introduce what he calls “a practical energy and climate change bill” aimed at “saving
people money on their energy bills, reducing foreign oil dependency, improving
industrial competitiveness, diversifying energy choices, and better using
domestic fossil fuel resources.”
Lugar won’t be
alone in addressing energy issues this week. Energy Secretary Steven Chu
will address the National Press Club Thursday to call for accelerating
innovation to help meet U.S.
energy and climate goals.
Meanwhile this week’s congressional hearings include lots
more investigation into all the issues churned up by the BP blowout – along
with farm bill, antitrust, and U.S/China relations hearings:
Tuesday, June 8
- Senate
Judiciary Committee hearing on “The Risky Business of Big Oil: Have Recent
Court Decisions and Liability Caps Encouraged Irresponsible Corporate
Behavior?”
Wednesday, June 9
- House
Agriculture Conservation, Credit, Energy, & Research Subcommittee
hearing on implementation of the 2008 Farm Bill energy title
- Senate
Judiciary Subcommittee hearing on “Oversight of the Enforcement of the
Antitrust Laws,” with Justice Department Assistant AG for the Antitrust
Division Christine Varney and Federal Trade Commission Chair Jonathan
Leibowitz
- Senate
Energy Committee’s fourth hearing on the BP oil spill, with Interior
Secretary Ken Salazar, with a focus on Interior’s May 27 report,
“Increased Safety Measures for Energy Development on the Outer Continental
Shelf”
- Senate
Environment & Public Works Committee hearing on S.3305, The Big Oil
Bailout Prevention Liability Act of 2010, to amend the Oil Pollution Act
of 1990 to increase the liability of the party responsible for an offshore
spill to the total of all removal costs plus $10 billion (currently, $75
million) for each incident, effective as of April 15, 2010
- House
Science & Technology Committee hearing on “Deluge of Oil Highlights
Research and Technology Needs for Effective Cleanup of Oil Spills”
- House
Budget Committee hearing on the State of the Economy: View from the
Federal Reserve, with Fed Chair Ben Bernanke
- House
Energy & Commerce Subcommittee hearing on “Promoting the Development
of Antibiotics and Ensuring Judicious Use in Humans”
- House Appropriations
Subcommittee hearing on Budget Request for the Federal Communications
Commission with FCC Chair Julius Genachowski
Thursday, June 10
- Senate
Finance Committee hearing on The U.S./China Economic Relationship: A New
Approach for A New China
- Senate
Homeland Security Subcommittee hearing “Deep Impact: Assessing the Effects
of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill on States, Localities and the Private
Sector”
USDA’s Economic Research Service & National Agricultural
Statistics Service reports:
- Monday
June 7, Crop Progress
- Tuesday,
June 8, Weather-Crop Summary
- Wednesday
June 9, Broiler Hatchery
-
Thursday
June 10, Crop Production, World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates,
Latest U.S.
Agricultural Trade Data, Season-Average Price Forecasts
-
Friday,
June 11, Dairy Products Prices, Peanut Prices, Potato Stocks, Livestock
and Meat Trade Data, Oil Crops Outlook, Rice Outlook, Cotton and Wool Outlook, U.S. Agricultural Trade Data
Update
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