There's never been any doubt about what direction the upcoming Republican-led House would take us on energy related issues, but nonetheless Politico takes a look at incoming freshmen to watch "on energy and environmental issues in the next Congress." And let's just say that there's not a maverick in the bunch, although they do seem to have two separate areas that they want to focus on -- the EPA:
- David McKinley (WV): Oversight of the Environmental Protection Agency will be one of his top priorities ...
- Cory Gardner (CO): ... hopes to advance "hearty oversight" of the EPA from his new perch on the Energy and Commerce Committee.
- Mike Pompeo (KS): Among his top priorities: investigating EPA.
- Morgan Griffith (VA): Expect Griffith to become one of the loudest voices on the Energy and Commerce Committee attacking EPA climate regulations next year.
... and "drill, baby, drill:"
- Adam Kinzinger (IL): ... said Congress must act aggressively to exploit domestic energy resources, including coal, offshore oil, natural gas, oil shale and renewables. Naturally, cap-and-trade legislation is off the table.
- Jeff Landry (LA): Landry is eager to use his seat on the Natural Resources Committee to end what he calls the administration's "de facto moratorium" on oil and gas drilling in the Gulf and allow the permitting process to move more swiftly.
- Jeff Duncan (SC): ... opening up federal lands that are currently off limits to energy exploration.
- Bill Flores (TX): His top energy goal in the next Congress: increase access to domestic energy supplies ...
But don't worry because it's not all bad news -- Charlie Bass (NH) is returning to Congress and we can:
Expect the Granite State Republican to be a more moderate voice on environmental issues than many of his GOP colleagues in the 112th Congress.
Apparently because five years ago he opposed drilling in ANWR. Never mind the thousands of dollars in tea party money he got five months ago.
No comments:
Post a Comment