Subject: Shift May Empower California.htm
From: [email-masked]
To: [email-masked]
Cc: [email-masked]
Date: Thu, 24 May 2001 11:47:43 -0700 (PDT)

Thanks for taking time to call  yesterday.  Good luck with the Lockyer situation.  I truly do believe  that direct and prompt interaction with Lockyer will prove more effective for  Enron than delayed or intermediated action.    As we discussed,  if I can be of any help with reconnaissance or as sounding  board, just let me know.
 
I have attached an article from  this morning's LA Times.  It provides an California view on how the  shakeup in the Senate might impact the state's energy  situation.  Certainly, by the time that President Bush visits  the California in a few days, the state's two Democratic US  Senators will be a good bit more empowered.
 
Kevin
213-926-2626

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Living     Special  Reports  Sunday Opinion  Tech  Times  Times Poll  Traffic  Weather  Workplace  SITE  MAP       [IMAGE]   [IMAGE] [IMAGE]    SHOP 'TIL YOUR LAPTOP DROPS [IMAGE] [IMAGE]  [IMAGE] [IMAGE]     [IMAGE]   Shopping [IMAGE] Search     Products Stores  [IMAGE]      [IMAGE]    [IMAGE]  [IMAGE]     [IMAGE]  [IMAGE] 	[IMAGE]	[IMAGE] Thursday, May 24, 2001 | [IMAGE]Print this story  [IMAGE] [IMAGE]  Shift May Empower California    By RICHARD SIMON, ELIZABETH SHOGREN, Times Staff  Writers        WASHINGTON--James  M. Jeffords has never mattered much to Californians. Until now.        The Vermont senator's widely anticipated  decision to abandon his fellow Republicans and put Democrats in control of  the Senate could have big implications for California, particularly on  energy and environmental policy, lawmakers and lobbyists said Wednesday.        The change, which Jeffords is expected  to announce today, could increase political pressure on the Bush  administration to respond more aggressively to California's electricity  crisis, these insiders said.       And it  might force the White House to compromise on key elements of the national  energy policy it unveiled last week. In fact, the administration's  proposed budget cuts for programs to promote renewable energy were said to  be a factor in Jeffords' decision.       At  the very least, Senate observers said, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) is  likely to get the floor vote she has sought on price controls for  wholesale electricity.       That doesn't  necessarily mean that the administration's critics will be able to have  everything their way. Even if the Senate approves electricity price caps,  for example, the measure would face stiff opposition in the GOP-dominated  House--and a likely veto if it made it to the president's desk.        Still, a Democratic majority in the  Senate would give Feinstein and other party members a platform to turn up  the political heat on the administration and congressional Republicans on  energy policy.       "It kicks up the dust,"  groaned one energy industry lobbyist who requested anonymity.        Observed Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.):  "If President Bush's hard-edged conservative approach has in fact caused  the balance to shift towards Democrats in the Senate, it will have  profound implications not just for California, but for the environment and  our nation's energy policy."        Environmentalists seemed almost giddy as  they contemplated the possible impact of Jeffords' decision on the  policies they care about.       All of a  sudden, they said, it seems less likely that oil exploration will take  place in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, that recreational  snowmobiles will have free access to Yellowstone National Park, or that  the administration's desire to promote nuclear power will be embraced by  Congress.       On the other hand, it seems  more probable that Congress would approve a new plan for managing a vast  swath of the Sierra Nevada to protect the region's oldest trees, consider  legislation to restrict emissions of carbon dioxide from power plants and  protect California from a resurgence of offshore oil drilling.        "It's stunning how broad the  repercussions are, particularly on the environment," said Gregory Wetstone  of the Natural Resources Defense Council. "We're trying not to count our  chickens before they hatch. But it will be easier for us in our battles at  least to keep from moving backwards."        For instance, Jeffords is a chief  advocate of a bill that would regulate carbon dioxide from power plants.  And if events play out as expected, he'll become the new chairman of the  Senate committee with jurisdiction over the issue.        Another issue under his purview would be  the two-decade dispute over a proposed repository for the nation's spent  nuclear fuel at Yucca Mountain in Nevada.        "Yucca Mountain is a dead turkey,"  declared Michael Francis of the Wilderness Society.        Environmentalists had been worried that  a number of pro-development provisions would be packed into appropriation  bills. But with Democratic senators in charge, that would become less of a  threat, they said.       "Every wacko idea  Republicans have will get a higher level of scrutiny," Francis said.        The biggest change would be the power of  Senate Democrats to decide which bills will be considered in committees,  and which ones will make it to the floor of the Senate for votes.        As part of a new Democratic majority,  Feinstein and fellow California Democrat Barbara Boxer are likely to gain  leverage with the administration on a number of issues considered  important to the state.       "That translates  into more federal assistance for California across the board," predicted  Steve Maviglio, spokesman for Gov. Gray Davis.        "I think it means more attention to our  state, for sure," Boxer said. "Right now, the president doesn't seem to  give a darn. They're all looking at California as a Democratic state.  They're not interested."       Feinstein, who  has been unable to arrange a meeting with Bush to discuss the energy  crisis, may get better treatment if winning Democratic support becomes  more important to the administration. She has been regarded as a  bridge-builder who worked effectively with Republicans in the past.        "This has not been a warm and friendly  administration," she complained Wednesday. "They've got people who know  all the answers and don't want to listen."        The White House disputed that. In fact,  Bush agreed Wednesday to meet with Davis during the president's first  visit to California next week.       Under a  Democratic majority, Feinstein would be in line to chair two  subcommittees: the military construction panel of the Senate  Appropriations Committee, and the technology, terrorism and government  information subcommittee of the Senate Judiciary Committee.        Boxer would be in line to chair the  subcommittee on Superfund, waste control and risk assessment, and the  Foreign Relations subcommittee on international operations and terrorism.        Maviglio predicted that the effects of  Jeffords' expected party defection would be felt immediately.        The chairmanship of the Senate Energy  and Natural Resources Committee would be taken away from Frank H.  Murkowski (R-Alaska), who has been "openly hostile to California's  plight," and handed to Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.), who supports Davis' request  for electricity price controls, according to Maviglio.        Democrats have assailed Bush's energy  plan for tilting heavily toward the supply side. With Democrats in charge  of the Senate, the administration would be more likely to compromise,  perhaps beefing up funding for Democrat-supported causes such as increased  energy assistance to low-income households and more aggressive promotion  of conservation and renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power.     Search  the archives of the Los Angeles Times for similar stories about:  United  States - Politics , Republican  Party , James  M Jeffords , Political  Party Defections , California  - Politics , Senate  (U.s.) . 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