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Congress ArchivesObama's Stimulus Plan: A Foundation for Growth?
Calling 2009 a "clean break from a troubled past," Barack Obama today announced his priorities for an economic stimulus package.
In Northern Virginia today, President-elect Barack Obama addressed the nation, introducing a few basic goals and guidelines for an economic stimulus package that could cost as much as a trillion dollars. Well aware that the large price tag on the stimulus, referred to as the "American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan," Obama included language about setting a foundation for economic growth now in order to return to a place of fiscal responsibility as the economy gets back on its feet. However, Obama was not shy about the need for the government to step in and spend, now: "It is true that we cannot depend on government alone to create jobs or long-term growth, but at this particular moment, only government can provide the short-term boost necessary to lift us from a recession this deep and severe. Only government can break the vicious cycles that are crippling our economy - where a lack of spending leads to lost jobs which leads to even less spending; where an inability to lend and borrow stops growth and leads to even less credit." Continue reading "Obama's Stimulus Plan: A Foundation for Growth?" » Forget What You Know: Why Cleantech Entrepreneurs Need to Forget the Lessons from the IT Revolution
We have to reform our strategy if we're to build the clean-energy Googles, the green-business Amgens, and green-job Dells of the future. We will only do that with government at our side.
By Sunil Paul Experience is a wonderful thing, but sometimes it leads to the wrong conclusion. We've all heard the chestnut about generals fighting the last war. Today in the cleantech world, the rules of government engagement that we learned from our proving grounds in information technology and biotech are hurting us. We have to reform our strategy if we're to build the clean-energy Googles, the green-business Amgens, and green-job Dells of the future. The Times, it is a-Changin'
It is heartening to see the New York Times leading the way in this shifting discourse while placing public investment in its rightful place as a core solution to climate change.
The New York Times editorial board, including respected environmental writer Bob Semple, broke from its past focus on carbon pricing as the primary solution to climate change in an editorial about Obama's newly announced energy and climate team. The piece praised Energy Secretary-designate Dr. Steven Chu for his views on the climate challenge: "What sets [Chu] apart is his fierce conviction that innovation is just as important as regulation, and that big energy problems, like climate change and the world's dependency on fossil fuels, will not be solved without major private and public investment in the development and deployment of nonpolluting technologies." Stop Stalling: Time to Hit the Reset Button on Detroit
The proposed bailout is an obvious stall tactic that will amount to nothing in the long term unless more dramatic actions to restructure and reinvent the American auto industry are taken.
Last night, the US House of Representatives approved $14 billion in emergency
loans to keep GM and Chrysler on life support into the new year.
Senate Republicans are in revolt though and may block passage without new amendments to allow more dramatic restructuring of the company's debt.
"If we don't have the forced restructuring plans in place, many of us don't believe that American car companies will come out of this in a competitive position and the taxpayers' money will be wasted," Senator John Ensign told the Washington Post (R-Nev.). I hate to say it, but I'm forced to agree with Republicans on this account: $14 billion to prop up GM and Chrysler until Obama takes office is an obvious half measure, a stall tactic that will merely punt the tough decisions down the line another couple months. While it may buy us a month or three, the proposed bailout will amount to nothing in the long term unless more dramatic actions to restructure and reinvent the American auto industry are taken. Continue reading "Stop Stalling: Time to Hit the Reset Button on Detroit" » Will the Academic and the Regulator Invest?
Obama names Berkeley National Lab Director Steven Chu Secretary of Energy, former EPA Administrator Carol Browner "Energy Czar."
By Jesse Jenkins and Adam Zemel Barack Obama made public today his intentions to appoint Steven Chu, director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, as Secretary of Energy and Carol Browner, former EPA Administrator and current transition team advisor for energy and environment, as the administration's new "Energy and Climate Czar." Breakthrough gives Obama's selection of Dr. Steven Chu a preliminary thumbs up, while the selection of Browner - who seems to see regulations as the primary driver of innovation - raises concerns about the kind of counsel Obama will receive from his new point person on energy and climate change. Continue reading "Will the Academic and the Regulator Invest?" » In "Vine" Veritas? (No.)
The New Republic's environment and energy blogger Bradford Plumer hits Michael and Ted with a strawman argument.
Last week in response to Michael and Ted's piece in The American Prospect, Bradford Plumer at The New Republic's "The Vine" wrote a piece called "Should We Forget About Carbon Pricing? (No.)" The post, which mischaracterizes the stances Michael and Ted take in the Prospect piece, also propagates the myth of successful emissions reductions in Europe. Plumer writes: "Ted Nordhaus and Michael Shellenberger have yet another essay arguing that environmentalists should abandon all hope of trying to cap or tax carbon emissions, and instead focus solely on subsidizing clean-energy sources if they want to avert drastic global warming. This characterization of S&N's positions in The American Prospect and the Breakthrough Institute in general is a strawman. Bridge to Nowhere?
"This would be a bridge, not a bailout."
-Senator Chris Dodd, Democrat from Connecticut and the man in charge of drafting the auto industry
Faced with the news that more than half a million jobs were lost last month, politicians in Congress and both the Bush and Obama administrations have been jolted into action on a bill to bailout the auto industry, whose collapse, experts say, could result in more than three million lost jobs. In testimonies last Friday, the CEOs of Chevrolet and GM said that without an immediate cash infusion they would not make it through the New Year. Ford, while not in such dire straits, still requires a nine billion dollar line of credit to avoid catastrophic collapse. Deficit Spend to Remake the U.S. Economy
The San Francisco Chronicle ran an op-ed by Teryn Norris today calling for major deficit spending on long-term clean energy investments to remake the U.S. economy. These strategic investments will create new industries, infrastructure, technology, and human capital to drive the U.S. economy for decades to come. You can read the op ed at the Chronicle here. Waxman Bests Dingell in Contest Over Influential House Committee
Henry Waxman (D-CA) defeated long-time Chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, John Dingell (D-MI), winning the gavel of the influential committee in a 137-122 vote of the House Democratic Caucus.
Representative Henry Waxman of California defeated Representative John Dingell of Michigan in the battle for the gavel of the influential House Energy and Commerce Committee today. Over the past two weeks, the two senior Democrats waged one of the most hotly contested challenges for committee chairmanship in recent Congressional history. Waxman was announced the victor today after a 137-122 vote of the full House Democratic Caucus, ending Dingell's nearly 28 year reign as Chair of the committee, which has jurisdiction over several key issues, including energy, interstate commerce and health care. Continue reading "Waxman Bests Dingell in Contest Over Influential House Committee" » Obama's Chief of Staff Says to Prepare for Major Reforms in Energy, Health Care, Economy
Rahm Emanuel Challenges CEOs to Embrace Universal Health Care, Unions; Stresses Clean Energy Infrastructure in Stimulus Spending
President-elect Barack Obama's incoming Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel, called for major reforms to our nation's health care, financial, and energy systems at the Wall Street Journal's CEO Council today, challenging CEOs to embrace an ambitious reform agenda. "When it gets rough out there, a lot of business leaders get out of the car and say, 'We're OK with minor reform.' I'm challenging you today, we're going to have to do big, serious things," Rahm Emanuel said, speaking at a forum convened to elicit corporate opinion on the challenges facing the new president. The soon-to-be White House Chief of Staff said the Obama Administration sees the economic crisis as an opportunity to advance a suite of bold solutions that would put America back on track. "You never want a crisis to go to waste," Mr Emanuel said, before continuing, "and what I mean by that is it's an opportunity to do things you couldn't do before." Mr Emanuel said the incoming administration would "throw long and deep," taking advantage of the economic crisis to advance wholesale changes in health care, taxes, financial re-regulation and energy. "The American people in two successive elections have voted for change, and change cannot be allowed to die on the doorsteps of Washington," he said.
A Real Grand Bargain: Radically Re-invent the American Automobile
Forget incrementally improvements in fuel economy. It's time to radically re-invent the American automobile, recapture the competitive edge in automotive technology and ensure that the average car gets 100 mpg by 2020.
With a new bailout for Detroit on the table, there's a lot of talk about getting some "grand bargain" with automakers out of the deal: automakers will agree to some terms, like producing more efficient vehicles, in exchange for the loans. In fact, the direct loans approved by the 2007 Energy Bill require auto companies to use the funds to retool factories that produce vehicles that get 25% better fuel economy than the average vehicle in it's class. That's a start. But the real grand bargain, in my opinion, is to bust out of this incremental improvements mentality for fuel economy. We don't need incremental improvements, we need exponential improvements in fuel economy. Here's how it could work... Continue reading "A Real Grand Bargain: Radically Re-invent the American Automobile" » Waxman Challenges Dingell for Leadership of Influental House Committee
A change in chairmanship could reshape the Congressional political landscape on energy and climate change.
Representative Henry Waxman (D-CA) plans to challenge venerable Representative John Dingell (D-MI) for chairmanship of the influential House Energy and Commerce Committee, according to a report from Roll Call. "The move marks a major showdown between two Democratic powerhouses, with implications for a host of major legislation next year from health care to global warming to renewable energy. Waxman currently chairs the Oversight and Government Reform panel." The House Energy and Commerce Committee has jurisdiction over a wide range of critical issues, including energy policy, health care, interstate commerce issues and most likely global warming policy as well. The committee will no doubt be a critical player in the legislative implementation of President-elect Obama's policy agenda. Continue reading "Waxman Challenges Dingell for Leadership of Influental House Committee" » |
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