Is Fred Upton our man?He's the new House energy chairman and might help get the Pickens Plan passed. Read the following:
Incoming House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton,R-Mich., had similar words Tuesday after a luncheon address by AmericanPetroleum Institute President Jack Gerard. “We’ve got problems ahead ofus that we have to be prepared for,” Upton said, after citing thelatest prices of both oil and gasoline.
Specifically, Pickens wants Congress to pass legislation he hasbacked to address the problem. His measure would offer tax incentives asa way to encourage the use of natural gas as a fuel for heavy-dutyvehicles like semi trucks and moving vans. The policy has bipartisansupport in both chambers of Congress. It did not pass because lawmakerscould not agree on a way to pay for the $5-billion bill, which had beenoffset by increasing taxes on the oil and gas industry.
Pickens may have been down for the count last Congress, but he’salready making the rounds for the 112th Congress. He spoke withPresident Obama’s top adviser, David Axelrod, shortly after the Novemberelections to talk about the chances of passing the bill in thelame-duck session and the prospects for it this year. He has metwith presumptive House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio,since the election and is working to schedule a meeting this month withUpton, who supported Pickens’s bill in the last Congress. Pickens saidhe has also been in touch with many other lawmakers.
“I think they got very busy at the end of the year, and it got kindof pushed off the table,” Pickens said. “I think it’s going to come uppretty quick.” He added, “We’ll get it introduced. We’re going to get itpassed.”
Evidence suggests that some type of legislation on natural gas couldlikely come up in the 112th Congress. Obama has continually citednatural gas as an area where the parties could find agreement, andSenate Majority Leader
Harry Reid, D-Nev., is a big fan of Pickens and his plan