Overnight Energy: Crude fight heats up

by Timothy Cama and Devin Henry - 09/15/15 6:18 PM ET

CRUDE OIL SHOWDOWN SET: The White House said Tuesday that it does not back a Republican bill to lift the ban on crude oil exports.

White House press secretary John Earnest delivered the news during his briefing, saying the White House opposes House legislation lifting the ban the same day House leaders said the bill would come up within weeks.

“We’ve got on a position on this, which is that this is a policy decision that is made over at the Commerce Department,” Earnest said, referring to its role in approving oil exports to specific countries in limited cases.

{mosads}”And for that reason, we wouldn’t support legislation like one that’s been put forward by Republicans.”

The White House’s position came on a day full of political maneuvering on the export ban.

In Houston, Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said the full House will consider a bill lifting the ban within the next few weeks, and he predicted lawmakers could override a presidential veto if it came to that.

“I think Congress should actually have a voice for where this goes,” he said in a speech to a business group.

Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.), the leading Democratic booster of ending the ban, said Tuesday she’s considering compromises that could win support from both congressional Democrats and the White House.

At a National Journal event, Heitkamp said lawmakers could tie tax credits for solar and wind power to the export bill, thereby lifting its prospects among Democrats.

“This is an opportunity to make an argument about production tax credits and investment tax credits in the context of giving certainty, across the board, to the energy industry and truly supporting an all-of-the-above policy,” Heitkamp said.

But Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.) warned that putting renewables and oil exports in the same bill could threaten Republican support for the package.

Taken together, the news proved the delicate balance needed to get congressional Republicans, Democrats and the White House on board with lifting the oil export ban, a problem proponents hope to solve before the year is out.

Read more about McCarthy’s speech here, the White House’s opposition to the GOP’s bill here, and Heitkamp’s efforts here.

ON TAP WEDNESDAY I: Senators will begin their review of the Environmental Protection Agency’s toxic waste spill at a Colorado mine. EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy will testify before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, and the Indian Affairs Committee on Tuesday.

ON TAP WEDNESDAY II: The House Energy and Commerce Committee will begin its two-day meeting to vote on lifting the oil export ban and its broad energy reform bill.

Rest of Wednesday’s agenda …

Vice President Joe Biden will be in California for a pair of energy related events. He will speak in the morning at the Solar Power International conference.

The Center for Strategic and International Studies will host a forum on Arctic research and the role of science. Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Angus King (I-Maine), co-chairmen of the Senate Arctic Caucus, will speak, as will White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Director John Holdren.

AROUND THE WEB:

Public relations giant Edelman will no longer work with climate change skeptics or coal companies, the Guardian reports.

Malcolm Turnbull did not change any of Australia’s climate change policies on his first day as prime minister, the Australian Broadcasting Corp. reports.

The San Diego County Board of Supervisors in California is considering asking the Department of Energy to remove nuclear waste from the shuttered San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, the Times of San Diego reports.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

Check out Tuesday’s stories …

-McCarthy: Congress could override oil export veto
-Greens question industry study on ozone rule costs
-White House opposes GOP bill to lift oil exports
-Obama officials press Congress to shift wildfire funding
-GOP moderates to push to fight climate change
-Interior chief defends Obama against liberal fire
-Report: House leadership looks to schedule vote on oil exports
-Dem senator says deal can be struck to lift ban on oil exports
-Interior secretary hopes sage grouse won’t need federal protection
-US, China bring climate pledges to the local level