Maureen Lorenzetti
OGJ Online
WASHINGTON, DC, May 23 -- A key US House Republican lawmaker Wednesday said his party hopes to build support for the president's energy policy blueprint over the week-long Memorial Day break.
House Majority Deputy Whip J.C. Watts (R-Okla.) suggested, however, that more time is needed to "educate" the American public on the energy proposal, introduced May 17. That would mean energy legislation may not be at the top of the House's legislative agenda when it returns June 5.
"I am not sure Americans are thinking about policy; their focus has been on prices," he said. And with gasoline retail prices expected to return to more normal levels, it could "take some time" to get Americans refocused on the issue, he said.
Watts defended the White House plan as a way to "stabilize supply on a long-term basis."
Other Republican leaders, including Majority Whip Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) and House Committee on Energy and Commerce Chairman Billy Tauzin (R-La.), have pledged to push energy legislation this summer, although it remains unclear whether it will be part of a comprehensive package, or on a piecemeal basis.
At present, it is more likely House leaders will offer narrowly focused proposals attached to pending legislation. The Senate, meanwhile, is leaning toward offering one large comprehensive package.
With regard to pending legislation now being fast-tracked through Congress to help alleviate California blackouts, Watts downplayed speculation that some Republican lawmakers from the state may decide to support a Democratic wholesale price cap plan. However, he did not discount the possibility that some California Republicans may endorse a compromise plan by Rep. Randy Cunningham (R-Calif.) that would give the Secretary of Energy the "option" of imposing price caps.
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