Message-ID: <28985349.1075852659054.JavaMail.evans@thyme> Date: Thu, 24 May 2001 11:47:43 -0700 (PDT) From: kevinscott@onlinemailbox.net To: skeane@enron.com Subject: Shift May Empower California.htm Cc: jeff.skilling@enron.com Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Bcc: jeff.skilling@enron.com X-From: Kevin Scott @ENRON X-To: Steve Keane X-cc: Skilling, Jeff X-bcc: X-Folder: \JSKILLIN (Non-Privileged)\Deleted Items X-Origin: Skilling-J X-FileName: JSKILLIN (Non-Privileged).pst Thanks for taking time to call yesterday. Good luck with the Lockyer situ= ation. 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 sou= nding board, just let me know. =20 I have attached an article from this morning's LA Times. It provides an C= alifornia view on how the shakeup in the Senate might impact the state's e= nergy situation. Certainly, by the time that President Bush visits the C= alifornia in a few days, the state's two Democratic US Senators will be a = good bit more empowered. =20 Kevin 213-926-2626 =20 [IMAGE] [IMAGE][IMAGE] =09Click here to learn more! [IMAGE]=09 [IMAGE] =09Home | Discussions | Print Edition | Archives | Site Map = | Home Delivery | Advertise | Feedback | Help [IMAGE]=09 =09[IMAGE]=09 [IMAGE] [IMAGE] [IMAGE] [IMAGE] News Politics Entertainment music ,= movies , art , TV , restaurants [IMAGE] Business Travel Marketplace jo= bs , homes , cars , rentals , classifieds [IMAGE] Sports Commentary Shop= ping [IMAGE] [IMAGE] [IMAGE] [IMAGE] [IMAGE] [IMAGE] A Section= [IMAGE] [IMAGE] TOP STORIES * State's Standardized Test Spurs Scatte= red Backlash * GOP Braces for Jeffords to Bolt Today * Moderates on = Outside of GOP Big Tent MORE [IMAGE] [IMAGE] [IMAGE] STORIES BY DA= TE FOR THIS SECTION 5/24 | 5/23 | 5/22 | 5/21 | 5/20 | 5/19 | 5/18 = [IMAGE] DAILY SECTIONS Front Page "A" Section California [= IMAGE] Business Sports Calendar [IMAGE] So. Cal. 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Living = Special Reports Sunday Opinion Tech Times Times Poll Traffic Weath= er 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] =09[IMAGE]=09[IMAGE] Thursday, May 24, 2001 | [IMAGE]Print= this story [IMAGE] [IMAGE] Shift May Empower California By RICHARD SI= MON, ELIZABETH SHOGREN, Times Staff Writers WASHINGTON--James M. J= effords has never mattered much to Californians. Until now. The Verm= ont senator's widely anticipated decision to abandon his fellow Republican= s and put Democrats in control of the Senate could have big implications f= or 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 adminis= tration to respond more aggressively to California's electricity crisis, t= hese insiders said. And it might force the White House to compromise= on key elements of the national energy policy it unveiled last week. In f= act, the administration's proposed budget cuts for programs to promote ren= ewable energy were said to be a factor in Jeffords' decision. At th= e very least, Senate observers said, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) is l= ikely 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 ap= proves electricity price caps, for example, the measure would face stiff o= pposition in the GOP-dominated House--and a likely veto if it made it to t= he president's desk. Still, a Democratic majority in the Senate wou= ld give Feinstein and other party members a platform to turn up the politi= cal heat on the administration and congressional Republicans on energy pol= icy. "It kicks up the dust," groaned one energy industry lobbyist wh= o requested anonymity. Observed Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.): "If P= resident Bush's hard-edged conservative approach has in fact caused the ba= lance to shift towards Democrats in the Senate, it will have profound impl= ications not just for California, but for the environment and our nation's= energy policy." Environmentalists seemed almost giddy as they cont= emplated the possible impact of Jeffords' decision on the policies they ca= re about. All of a sudden, they said, it seems less likely that oil = exploration will take place in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, that r= ecreational snowmobiles will have free access to Yellowstone National Park= , or that the administration's desire to promote nuclear power will be emb= raced by Congress. On the other hand, it seems more probable that C= ongress would approve a new plan for managing a vast swath of the Sierra N= evada to protect the region's oldest trees, consider legislation to restri= ct emissions of carbon dioxide from power plants and protect California fr= om a resurgence of offshore oil drilling. "It's stunning how broad t= he repercussions are, particularly on the environment," said Gregory Wetst= one of the Natural Resources Defense Council. "We're trying not to count o= ur 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 i= ssue under his purview would be the two-decade dispute over a proposed rep= ository for the nation's spent nuclear fuel at Yucca Mountain in Nevada. = "Yucca Mountain is a dead turkey," declared Michael Francis of the W= ilderness Society. Environmentalists had been worried that a number= of pro-development provisions would be packed into appropriation bills. B= ut with Democratic senators in charge, that would become less of a threat,= they said. "Every wacko idea Republicans have will get a higher lev= el of scrutiny," Francis said. The biggest change would be the power= of Senate Democrats to decide which bills will be considered in committee= s, 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 De= mocrat Barbara Boxer are likely to gain leverage with the administration o= n a number of issues considered important to the state. "That transl= ates into more federal assistance for California across the board," predic= ted Steve Maviglio, spokesman for Gov. Gray Davis. "I think it mean= s more attention to our state, for sure," Boxer said. "Right now, the pres= ident 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 ge= t 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 peopl= e who know all the answers and don't want to listen." The White Hou= se disputed that. In fact, Bush agreed Wednesday to meet with Davis during= the president's first visit to California next week. Under a Democ= ratic majority, Feinstein would be in line to chair two subcommittees: the= military construction panel of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and t= he technology, terrorism and government information subcommittee of the Se= nate Judiciary Committee. Boxer would be in line to chair the subco= mmittee on Superfund, waste control and risk assessment, and the Foreign R= elations subcommittee on international operations and terrorism. Mav= iglio predicted that the effects of Jeffords' expected party defection wou= ld be felt immediately. The chairmanship of the Senate Energy and N= atural 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 pri= ce controls, according to Maviglio. Democrats have assailed Bush's e= nergy plan for tilting heavily toward the supply side. With Democrats in c= harge of the Senate, the administration would be more likely to compromise= , perhaps beefing up funding for Democrat-supported causes such as increas= ed energy assistance to low-income households and more aggressive promotio= n of conservation and renewable energy sources such as wind and solar powe= r. Search the archives of the Los Angeles Times for similar stories ab= out: United States - Politics , Republican Party , James M Jeffords , P= olitical Party Defections , California - Politics , Senate (U.s.) . 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