Energy & Sustainability

Congress returns for the 114th session January 6, and efforts are underway to prepare for an eventful two years on Capitol Hill as well as the final two years of the Obama Administration.

The 113th Congress adjourned sine die last week, and efforts are underway to prepare for an eventful 114th Congress and final two years of the Obama Administration.

Energy and environmental issues abounded on the congressional as well as international fronts last week, and they will continue to play a prominent role in the last couple of weeks of 2014.

The House and Senate are in session for just a few more days prior to adjourning the 113th Congress. Remaining issues to address during the lame duck include the hybrid omnibus-continuing resolution, which could close out most work on fiscal 2015 spending and fund the government after December 11, a tax extenders package.

With Congress returning for the final days of the lame duck session before Republicans assume control of both chambers in the 114th Congress, and President Obama entering the final two years of his term, several energy and environmental issues remain unfinished.

Prior to recessing for the Thanksgiving holiday, the House and Senate both took several votes and introduced numerous pieces of legislation on energy and environment related issues last week.

President Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping jointly pledged November 11 in Beijing to make significant CO2 reductions in the next two decades. The United States will reduce its net greenhouse gas emissions by 26 to 28 percent below 2005 levels by 2025, accelerating the pace of reductions already planned by 2020.

Republicans gained control of the Senate last Tuesday, and, with Republicans picking up several House seats as well, Congress rests in their hands. The question now becomes: can D.C. govern?

With election day looming, our attention turns to the outcomes of the close races, potential lame duck issues, and what the election means for the new 115th Congress.

One week until election day, Congressional campaigns are in their final days, and several races remain too close to call. While Congress prepares for a brief but intense Lame Duck session, stay tuned for election updates.

With just over two weeks until election day, Congress is preparing for a brief but intense Lame Duck session, while continuing final campaign pushes. With several races still in the too-close-to-call column, the Senate’s balance of power remains uncertain, though Republicans will retain control of the House.

With a little over three weeks to go before the elections, and just a bit more than that until the next round of international climate negotiations, the United States is trying to determine how, and how much, to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions over the next decade.

The fifth annual United States-India Energy Partnership summit took place in Washington last week. The United States and India created the Clean Energy Finance Forum September 30 after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with President Obama in Washington for the first time since his election in the spring.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, more than 162 government representatives, including 126 heads of state and government, and leaders in the business and finance sectors convened a Climate Summit in New York City September 23.

Congress has recessed until after the November elections, and we turn our attention this week to energy and climate issues on the Administration and international fronts.

Congress is in Washington this week for an intense few days before recessing until after the November elections.

Congress returns to Washington this week for a two-week session before leaving again to campaign in advance of the November elections. The House will vote on a fairly clean continuing resolution on Thursday, with the Senate to debate the funding measure shortly thereafter.

With Congress preparing to return to Washington, efforts are underway to fill the two-week session with negotiations on a continuing resolution and votes on several pre-election issue favorites.

This week, ML Strategies' Director of Government Relations, Bryan Stockton, provides an update on the clean energy provisions in the Senate's tax-extenders package and details scenarios for their extension as the midterm elections approach.

Congress is in recess for the remainder of August, but when it returns for just over two weeks in September, much of the focus will turn to crafting a continuing resolution to keep the government open while senators and representatives continue to negotiate a budget.