CoServ has a responsibility to keep you, our member-owners, informed about industry issues that affect your membership benefits (with low-cost energy being at the top of that list). As decisions hang in the balance on Capitol Hill and in the Texas legislature, affordable energy can be threatened by costs and unreasonable regulatory demands. As citizens of the largest energy-producing state in the nation, Texans must be on our toes. Please contact your federal/state legislators through Our Energy, Our Future – A Dialogue with America at www.ourenergy.coop.
If you are interested in being a part of CoServ’s Legislative Awareness initiative, please contact us at communications@coserv.com with your name, e-mail address, and service address. You will receive a monthly e-mail that provides legislative updates and information about how to participate locally. We may be contacting you personally to touch base with your state legislators in a variety of ways (i.e., attending forums, making phone calls, writing letters, commenting on political blogs, etc.). Please keep an eye out for your issue of Texas Co-op Power magazine each month for more information, and thank you for your participation and support.
January Update
On The Hill:
In light of President Obama’s ambitious health care plan not garnering the support he expected, the climate bill advocates in the Senate are focusing on a more modest package of climate and energy actions that they believe have a better chance of passing Congress this year.
Their first choice for climate bill legislation included a cap and trade system to curb greenhouse gas emissions, but that idea has already been bruised and battered by the divided Senate. The prospect of the original bill making it to the Senate floor dimmed after the special election in Massachusetts last month was won by Scott Brown, a Republican who renounced the federal cap-and-trade proposal in his campaign. The seat was previously held by recently deceased Sen. Ted Kennedy, who served on the Senate for more than 40 years. Passing healthcare and climate change bills could be challenging because this one-seat party change can alter the future of legislation - Democrats no longer hold a filibuster-proof majority.
Republicans, industry executives and some Democrats are already resigned to the possibility that the cap and trade system is a dead issue when it comes to climate legislation. Even some of the bill’s most powerful supporters believe they must scale back their initial aspirations and focus on energy projects that create job growth and energy efficiency measures if they hope to pass any climate change initiatives in this Congress.
In Austin:
A Carbon Regulation roundtable was held in Houston in January about the impacts on the proposed cap and trade legislation.
The roundtable, hosted by area Republican members of Congress as well as members of the Texas legislature including Sen. Mike Jackson, Rep. Ken Legler, Rep. John Davis, Rep. Larry Taylor, Rep. Randy Weber, U.S. Reps. Kevin Brady and Pete Olson also attended.
The members of the state legislature spoke repeatedly about seeing Texas as a model of how to address environmental concerns while promoting economic growth. Most speakers discussed the future job losses that could come if the cap and trade legislation is passed. They also agreed that focusing on cleaner-burning fuel and cleaner air in the future will help implement a plan that benefits our economy instead of harming it.
Taylor said Texas has achieved more improvement in air quality in the last 10 years than any other state, while also leading the nation in job creation.
Olson said energy needs should be addressed both by alternative energy sources including nuclear power and also by opening more areas to offshore drilling. He accused the government of inconsistency by not allowing drilling off much of the U.S. coast while spending money to help Brazil develop offshore oil drilling.
Brady said if the Senate took a more reasonable approach on clean-burning fuels there would be support in both bodies of the federal legislature.
At CoServ:
In late 2009, CoServ CEO/President Mike Dreyspring penned a letter to statewide legislators strongly opposing cap and trade legislation. He received a response from Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison and, in her letter, Hutchison expressed apprehension as well, stating that a cap and trade approach to climate change would be difficult and would adversely impact the economy. Instead, she proposes the investment of alternative sources of energy affirming that wind, solar, nuclear, and biomass are clean, safe and effective sources of power.
We've started an archive, click on a the links below to review.
December 2009
November 2009
October 2009
September 2009
August 2009
July 2009
June 2009
May 2009
April 2009
March 2009
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