The two US senators from different political parties clearly were determined to preserve their committee's bipartisan tradition in 2013.
"We're not running a bouquet-tossing contest," Ronald L. Wyden (D-Ore.), the new chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, explained as he and the committee's ranking minority member, Lisa Murkowski (R-Alas.), shared the stage at the Center for Strategic and International Studies on Feb. 13.
But the changed US natural gas outlook—from scarcity to abundance in just a few years—"presents us with an opportunity to have it all," Wyden continued. "We've begun to examine whether it's possible to hit a sweet spot where you have some gas exports without driving up prices."
Murkowski observed: "This Congress needs to spend more time working with each other than taking positions. We want to produce something meaningful for the committee. Sending a message doesn't lead to policies."
They keynoted a seminar where CSIS formally released a new report, "Realizing the Potential of US Unconventional Gas," a day after the committee held its first hearing of the 113th Congress. It also dealt with US gas potential.
Wyden said he was struck, during the hearing, at how much common ground there was already, particularly when a witness, Natural Resources Defense Fund Pres. Frances G. Beineke, and committee member John Hoeven (R-ND) talked about state working with the federal government to develop effective hydraulic fracturing regulations.
"When you hear a producing state Republican and the president of a national environmental organization talk about the need for transparency, that shows there's common ground," Wyden maintained.
Seeking equilibrium
Murkowski said, "We've just seen the beginning of this 'shale gale,' as they referred to it in yesterday's hearing, and haven't found our equilibrium."
They spoke more about gas, but it became increasingly clear that they plan to seek common ground on other issues too, as this committee traditionally has.
Former Sen. J. Bennett Johnston (D-La.), who chaired the committee from the 100th through the 103rd Congresses, was in the audience. He commended Wyden and Murkowski for getting off to a good start.
"Let me warn you about possibly trying to reach a pricing sweet spot through government regulation," he told them. "When you try to regulate prices by restricting export projects that won't be built for 3-5 years, you may be making a mistake."
Wyden said he hoped the committee would thoughtfully look at energy exports in general because it is such a huge issue. "One of the witnesses at yesterday's hearing called for future debate," he told his CSIS audience. "I remember thinking, 'Boy, we're going to have a lot of that!'"