Public approval of Congress hits a four-year high

Last month, Congress passed the economic recovery bill, including the largest investment in clean energy in history. A new Gallup poll shows that public opinion of Congress just hit a four-year high.

Click here for the Gallup report.

LCV in the News

Gene Karpinski joined his fellow leaders in the environmental community to commend the call for change in elections of Barack Obama and other pro-environmental legislators and speak on the challenges that now face the President-Elect.

Election victories are historical for the environment! Read about how voters this year chose to enter into a clean energy future at The Seattle Post-Intellegencer, EarthFirst, Green Biz, Grist, and North American Wind Power.

Dirty Dozen Defeated! Seven members of the Dirty Dozen lost their races on Tuesday, making way for those in favor of change in our nation's energy future, The Baltimore Sun and Wild Spirit report.

President-Elect Barack Obama begins to decide who will head the Environmental Protection Agency.

Policy & Lobbying

Congress returns to session this week after its 4th of July recess, during which most Members heard numerous concerns from constituents suffering due to high gas prices. This spells bad news for the next four to five weeks, as environmentally damaging bills are likely to come up every week until the August recess. Most of these will be in the form of drilling in one form or another. However, this week the bill on the table will probably be H.R. 2208, the Liquid Coal Fuel Act, also a pretty bad idea both environmentally and economically.

These misguided and Big Coal/Oil-prejudiced policies will do nothing to reduce the price of gas, but some in Congress will continue to sound that horn rather than working to offer a wider suite of energy options to American consumers. Only with greater market diversification, increased availability of other forms of energy, and improved transit will consumers find relief from escalating gas prices. So far however, Congress has been deadlocked, largely due to the desire of many to score political points in an election year.

A bill repealing the moratorium on drilling in the outer continental shelf (OCS) will likely be sent to the Appropriations Committee for mark-up on either Wednesday or Thursday. The Committee should consider sternly the environmental damage such a bill would do and the minimal likelihood that it would accomplish anything on behalf of the American public. The more likely result is yet more record-breaking profits for oil companies. Thankfully, the facts are on our side, and it is only the misdirection of those in league with Big Oil that are standing between environmental degradation and the continued preservation of a vital moratorium.

With the US at 25% of world oil consumption and only 2% of reserves in our control, there is no logic to suggest that increasing drilling provides either a short or a long-term solution to the problem of high prices. It is now on the backs of Congress to remain strong in the coming weeks to both preserve our environment and appropriately tackle high gas prices. Even John McCain, who tries to paint himself as an environmentalist despite a woeful League of Conservation Voters lifetime score of 24%, admits that some of his Big Oil-friendly suggestions offer merely "psychological" help for Americans.

Post From the Policy & Lobbying Side of LCV

LCV's Policy and Lobbying department is going to start guest-blogging on LCVlive about the day-to-day developments of environmental priorities on the Hill.

As most of LCVlive's readers likely know, the biggest environmental action on the Hill recently was Warner-Lieberman bill, also known as the Climate Safety Act. This piece of legislation would have been the first global warming legislation in the history of the country. The bill established a market-based cap-and-trade system limiting global warming, mirroring on the federal level what almost 30 states are implementing in some fashion. The bill stalled when the Senate voted 48-36 to end debate. Some post-game thoughts:

Joe Lieberman, who has co-sponsored global warming legislation in the past, found an unlikely ally in his bi-partisan co-sponsor John Warner. Warner, a retiring Virginia senator who has historically voted against global warming legislation, rethought his position when his young grandchildren urged him to do something about the problem. The pair, along with Environment and Public Works Committee Chair Barbara Boxer, showed tremendous leadership in driving this legislation. The environmental community, including LCV, worked hard throughout the process to strengthen the act by upping targets to where science says we need to be and ensuring the proceeds went to public benefit instead of polluters, while fighting against bad amendments such as subsidies for the nuclear industry or a "safety valve" which would effectively curtail the bill if gas prices reached a certain price.

However, a group of anti-environment Senators, with Jim Inhofe and Mitch McConnell leading the charge, resorted to cheap obstructionist tactics. In a move that you'd think would only happen in Hollywood, these Senators made the clerks read the entire 492-page bill aloud, which took 10 hours.

In spite of this, 54 senators voted or issued statements in support of continuing the debate. This is great progress, since the last global warming vote we had 38 Senators voting in favor of global warming legislation. Clearly, however, we still have work to do, and one of the most important steps is that we need to elect pro-environment candidates in 2008.

Congresswoman Edwards Sworn In

This afternoon Donna Edwards took the oath of office as Congresswoman of Maryland’s 4th Congressional District at the Capitol. She takes her position as the first African-American woman elected to Congress from the state of Maryland, and the first LCV Board member to be elected to Congress, serving on the boards of both LCV and the Maryland LCV.

At the swearing in of Donna Edwards, the House floor was filled with her colleagues, who stayed after an amendment vote to show their support for their newest member. She was hugged and greeted by members on both sides of the aisle, including Speaker Nancy Pelosi and outgoing Rep. Al Wynn, who introduced her to the House and welcomed her into the Maryland delegation of representatives.

Above the floor, the public seating was packed with supporters of Donna Edwards who welcomed her into the room with waves and a standing ovation. She brought a message of change in her first words as Congresswoman. She vowed to be a representative to all walks of life and to start the job “with her sleeves rolled up and ready to work.”

Following her swearing in, she was greeted by the very supporters who stood by her throughout her campaign. The reception that she held in the Capitol was filled with the warmness of a jazz band, good food, and old friends.

As Donna Edwards begins her service to Maryland’s 4th district and the nation as a whole, she brings her leadership in energy and environmental issues to Congress and starts off the expansion to a pro-environment majority.

Karpinski Joins Boxer at Congress

LCV joined Senator Barbara Boxer and leaders from major environmental organizations at Congress today to talk about moving America towards a clean energy future. Sen. Boxer said that increasing numbers of Republican and Democratic senators are warming to the Warner-Lieberman bill, which will require increased energy efficiency and clean fuels. She added that voters will hold accountable those delegates who try to block pro-environmental legislation.

Karpinski bolstered her remarks, saying, “Now, in the face of an economy dragged down by $100-plus per barrel crude, record oil company profits and a growing recognition of the need for immediate action on global warming, 2008 will be a year when the American people expect more. The best thing members of Congress can do this year -- for the future of the planet, consumers, and the economy, not to mention their own reelection -- is to support a strong global warming bill that achieves the emissions reductions the science shows are necessary."

It was inspiring to see Sen. Boxer on stage with some of the environmental movement’s most influential figures. The leaders joining Karpinski were Kevin Knobloch (President of the Union of Concerned Scientists), Frances Beinecke (President of the National Resources Defense Council), and Carl Pope (President of the Sierra Club).

See here for the press release.