The deal in the House of Representatives a week ago on a major energy bill included higher fuel economy standards, encouraged ethanol use, and rescinded tax breaks for energy companies. It also showed the limits of lobbying. When Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) decided to put her muscle behind an agreement, last-minute visits by auto executives and months of lobbying couldn’t change her mind on key provisions — especially the rollback of tax breaks for the oil industry and renewable fuel issues. “There are a lot of aspects in the current bill that are not good for the oil and gas industry, and that needs to be modified,” says Drew Maloney of Ogilvy Government Relations, which represents Chevron, the American Petroleum Institute, and the Association of International Automobile Manufacturers.
Maloney declined to discuss the firm’s strategy, but many lobbyists for energy interests say they aren’t happy with the proposed bill, and turned their lobbying efforts to the Senate, which today sent the bill back to the House, seeking a new compromise.
“Obviously, we’re going to continue to work with the senators . . . to encourage them not to just accept the bill that looks likely to come over from the House and ask them to continue to work with us to come up with a more reasonable bill,” says Andy Wright, a vice president at Dutko Worldwide and head of the firm’s energy, environment, and sustainability team. Dutko represents Duke Energy and the National Petrochemical and Refiners Association. The National Association of Manufacturers is also disappointed and has sent letters to members of Congress asking them to modify the legislation. Jay Timmons, NAM’s senior vice president for policy and government relations, says the group is lobbying key senators and continues to try and influence the legislation in the House. Energy lobbyists are also reminding rank-and-file members that their votes will have consequences, a message they want to be sure gets delivered to the House leadership.
Comments