Overnight Energy: Lawmakers kick off energy bill talks

A SIGN OF THINGS TO COME? Lawmakers on Thursday kicked off the process of finalizing an energy reform bill, pledging bipartisanship while also telegraphing they political hurdles they face.

During the first formal meeting of a House and Senate energy conference committee, members said they wanted to “prove the skeptics wrong,” as Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said, and write a compromise bill that can pass this session.

{mosads}”I think there are some who would admit readily that they never thought we would get this far, that they doubted whether we would be able to write this bill, much less pass it, let alone get to conference,” Murkowski said.

“Our task now is to develop a final bill that can be signed into law.”

Democrats broadly agreed — but they have a wish list that some Republicans are likely to dismiss.

Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and others, for example, repeated their preference for extending the Land and Water Conservation Fund permanently, something Rep. Rob Bishop (R-Utah) and other Republicans oppose.

Elsewhere, Bishop highlighted conservative provisions in the House bill that he likes but Democrats loathe; several Democrats said they want a final bill to address climate change, an issue that has never been at the top of energy panel Republicans’ minds.

Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) issued an ominous warning: “If some of the Democrats do not want to reach an agreement, I would just tell them, ‘Do not assume that this opportunity or that this offer will be available in the next Congress.'”

Members hope to write an energy reform bill — the first since 2007 — by the end of this session.

Read more here.

MINERS RALLY FOR PENSION BILL: Thousands of coal miners and their allies rallied near the Capitol on Thursday for a bill to rescue their pension fund.

The United Mine Workers of America, which operates the fund, organized the rally, where about a dozen lawmakers spoke in support of the legislation.

“We’ve got to pass this legislation by the end of this year. And if we don’t pass it by the end of the year, people will be without healthcare, and soon, pensions,” UMWA President Cecil Roberts said at the event next to the Capitol reflecting pool. “So, brothers and sisters, we must have help from both sides of the aisle.”

Eight-five of the attendees, including Roberts, were arrested after the rally when they sat in a roadway and asked Capitol Police to arrest them.

Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) told the miners, families and supporters that they should direct their efforts toward Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who hasn’t committed to bringing the Miners Protection Act to the Senate floor for a vote.

“There’s one guy who doesn’t much like the UMWA, he happens to be the top Republican, the majority leader in the Senate. We need Republican senators and Democratic senators to put the heat on Mitch McConnell,” he said.

“He’s the reason we haven’t had it yet, he’s the reason this isn’t law, he’s the reason we haven’t fixed this.”

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) said the bill upholds a promise that the federal government made in 1946 to take care of miners’ retirement and health benefits.

“We believe that when you make a promise, you don’t forsake the miners, the widows or their families. A promise made is a promise kept, and that’s what we’re going to see,” she said. “It’s a fairness issue.”

Read more here.

COMMITTEE VOTES TO WEAKEN COAL MORATORIUM: The House Natural Resources Committee voted Thursday to exempt some coal mines from the Obama administration’s moratorium on new federal-land coal leases.

The bill from Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-Mont.) passed 22 to 13. It would allow leases that companies have applied for to continue throughout the three-year study period by the Interior Department.

The bill would also establish an advisory committee for fossil fuel leasing, and put a hard limit of three years on the administration’s review.

“This is not just about taxpayer fairness. Whether intended or not, it has certain implications. And those implications are a negative impact on the coal industry,” said Bishop, the committee chairman.

“If you raise the royalty rates, it will result in more expensive electricity. More expensive electricity handcuffs our economy, it prevents our growth, and it is disproportionately tough on people who are poor.”

The panel rejected an amendment from Rep. Alan Lowenthal (D-Calif.) to increase royalty rates on the leases allowed during the study period.

Read more here.

Tomorrow in The Hill: The Dakota Access Pipeline has turned into one of the newest fronts in greens’ fight against fossil fuel development and pipelines around the United States. Tomorrow in The Hill, a look at how the coalition of opponents came together.   

Join The Hill on Wednesday, September 14 for “Preparing for the Next Disaster: A Policy Discussion on Community Resilience,” featuring Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-Mo.), and Timothy W. Manning, Deputy Administrator for Protection and National Preparedness at FEMA. Topics of discussion include preparedness efforts to increase community resilience and the role of federal, state & local government in pre-disaster mitigation. RSVP here.

ON TAP FRIDAY: A federal judge has said he hopes to issue a ruling by Friday in the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s request for an injunction against the Dakota Access Pipeline. Follow The Hill for updates.  

AROUND THE WEB:

California is blocking a planned 895-home development on one of the last open spaces on Southern California’s coast, the Los Angeles Times reports.

On the first day of the federal trial against the Malheur Wildlife Refuge takeover suspects, the judge ruled that brothers Ammon and Ryan Bundy were dressed appropriately, the Oregonian reports.

Federal officials are expanding Yosemite National Park by 400 acres, the largest expansion since 1949, NPR reports.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

Check out Thursday’s stories…

-California governor signs landmark climate bill
-House panel votes to weaken Obama’s coal moratorium
-Coal miners rally for pension fix
-Energy members begin hunt for compromise reform bill
-Obama: Climate change consequences ‘terrifying’
-Miners plead for pension rescue

Please send tips and comments to Timothy Cama, tcama@digital-stage.thehill.com; and Devin Henry, dhenry@digital-stage.thehill.com. Follow us on Twitter: @Timothy_Cama, @dhenry, @thehill