John Replogle
| July 31, 2013, 5 a.m.
It might sound like a crazy thing to say but the United States Senate has been doing a pretty good job at compromise in the past month or so. From student loans, to immigration, to even avoiding a crisis over filibuster reform, Democrats and Republicans have been working together to move forward on getting things done. It’s my hope that this sense of compromise holds intact for an important piece of legislation that stands to make the products we buy online and off store shelves a lot safer when we bring them into our homes.
Andy Igrejas
| July 31, 2013, 5 a.m.
Both chambers of Congress are suddenly stirring on how to protect the public from toxic chemicals. The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee has a marathon hearing on Wednesday with three large panels of experts. House Energy and Commerce has already conducted two hearings. Improbably, reforming our broken chemical law is emerging in this Congress as a thing that can get done.
By
Lauren Gardner
| July 31, 2013, 5 a.m.
Supporters of bipartisan legislation to overhaul the nation’s toxic chemicals law hope to use a committee hearing Wednesday to assuage a Senate chairwoman’s concerns that the proposal would usurp tougher state environmental laws.
Sen. David Vitter
| July 30, 2013, 3:51 p.m.
Congress is best known these days for hyper-partisan debate and gridlock. This is particularly true with bigger, national issues, including almost all involving President Barack Obama’s EPA. That why a recent breakthrough bipartisan bill that I’ve helped craft on chemical safety could become a really positive milestone and model — for modern environmental legislation and for a more functional Congress more generally.
Michael Hecht and Thomas Bracken
| July 29, 2013, 1:23 p.m.
In recent months, it has become clear that congressional action is needed to address unintended, drastic increases to National Flood Insurance Program rates for home and business owners along our coasts and rivers.
David Holt
| July 24, 2013, 5 a.m.
While people across the country continue to bemoan Congress and its sclerotic dysfunction, sometimes you just have to find a silver lining. For energy consumers, the Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act may just be that bright spot in an otherwise gloomy outlook.
By
Ambreen Ali
| July 23, 2013, 3:09 p.m.
The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in northeast Alaska consists of 19 million acres — including a 1.5 million acre coastal plain seen as the potential source of at least 7.7 billion barrels of technically recoverable oil.
By
Ambreen Ali
| July 23, 2013, 3:06 p.m.
After being frustrated for decades in their efforts to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas development, Alaska politicians are trying a new approach that may shift the battleground from Congress to the courts.
By
Lauren Gardner, Emma Dumain
| July 18, 2013, 7:30 p.m.
Peter A. DeFazio of Oregon won the contest Thursday to become ranking Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee, after Arizona Democrat Raúl M. Grijalva surprised colleagues with his decision to withdraw from consideration.
James Dozier
| July 17, 2013, 12:38 p.m.
Recently, President Barack Obama unveiled his new plan to combat global climate change. In the weeks and months ahead, the actors on both sides of this needlessly partisan political drama will play their parts and stick to the script. Most Republicans will charge the White House with over-reaching and most Democrats will counter that Republicans are doing nothing to deal with the energy and environmental challenges we face.
Richard Hausmann
| July 15, 2013, 2:01 p.m.
When scientists, Congress, the health care industry and high-tech manufacturers all agree on the urgency of an issue, you know it is more than hot air. A large portion of the U.S. supply of available helium is set to become unavailable on Oct. 7 because of a legislative deadline set in law by the Helium Privatization Act of 1996. Congress has the opportunity to immediately address this challenge while also supporting manufacturing, innovation and economic strength across the nation.
By
Ambreen Ali
| July 15, 2013, 5 a.m.
The House fanned an old debate this week by adopting a provision that would block the Energy Department from setting energy efficiency standards for ceiling fans.
By
Lauren Gardner
| July 9, 2013, 3 p.m.
Over the almost 50 years since its creation, most Land and Water Conservation Fund dollars have been doled out to federal agencies for land acquisition. But conservation advocates say funding is increasingly being steered toward alternatives that can protect outdoor spaces without expanding federal real estate ownership.
By
Lauren Gardner
| July 9, 2013, 2:43 p.m.
A push by a group of senators to divert more offshore oil and gas royalties to coastal states presents a new challenge — but potentially a fresh opportunity — for defenders of the beleaguered Land and Water Conservation Fund.
Ajit Manocha
| July 5, 2013, 11:26 a.m.
You know about the fiscal cliff, but have you heard of the helium cliff?
Tom Schatz
| June 24, 2013, 1:49 p.m.
In 1996, Congress agreed to privatize the federal helium reserve with the strong support of taxpayer advocates, including Citizens Against Government Waste. The purpose was simply to end the government’s 70-year odyssey of buying, storing and refining helium.
Michael A. Andrews and Abraham N.M. Shashy Jr.
| June 21, 2013, 3:03 p.m.
In his 2013 State of the Union address, President Barack Obama championed our nation’s energy policy and reaffirmed his goal of cutting net oil imports in half by the end of the decade. He said, “Today no area holds more promise than our investments in American energy. After years of talking about it, we’re finally poised to control our own energy future. ... We produce more oil at home than we have in 15 years. ... We produce more natural gas than ever before and nearly everyone’s energy bill is lower because of it.” Three months later, the president released his budget proposal, which eliminates tax incentives for the oil and gas industry, calling them “tax giveaways.” The president might achieve his goal of ending what he calls “oil subsidies that keep us trapped in the past,” but he will do so at the expense of sound energy policy.
Reps. Scott Peters and Tulsi Gabbard
| June 21, 2013, 1:53 p.m.
For the price of a single F-22 fighter jet, Congress could do more to strengthen national security and our economy than an entire combat squadron. When invested in military-led biofuel development, that cost could secure a safe, renewable domestic fuel supply and spur job growth in communities across the country.
By
Meredith Shiner
| June 20, 2013, 8:20 p.m.
A tense meeting of Democrats on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee saw Chairwoman Barbara Boxer and her chief aide squaring off against senators who support a bipartisan agreement to overhaul the nation’s toxic chemical laws.
Durwood Zaelke and Paul Bledsoe
| June 20, 2013, 5 a.m.
On the heels of a historic agreement between the U.S. and China to phase down super greenhouse gases known as hydrofluorocarbons using the Montreal Protocol, India now has an opportunity to join the other leaders to secure the most immediate and significant climate protection available to the world through 2020.
