House consideration today of a dynamic legislative package that would provide more than $50 billion in Superstorm Sandy aid is likely to spark a floor debate on climate change, mitigation funding and the federal debt.

Nearly three months after the weather event destroyed residential and tourism sectors and transportation networks along the Northeast coastline, House Republican leaders scheduled a vote on a $17 billion provision that, if adopted, would become the legislative base for members to attach another $33 billion in relief funds.

The $17 billion proposal, offered by Appropriations Chairman Harold Rogers (R-Ky.), which is expected to garner sufficient bipartisan support on the House floor today, would provide $1.4 billion for the Army Corps of Engineers, $3.9 billion for community development grants, $5.4 billion for transit repairs and another $5.4 billion for the Federal Emergency Management Agency's disaster relief fund.

"There has been some delay on this because it is such a huge request and we were scouring the numbers trying to understand it, and justify," Rogers said last night. "We have to justify every dollar that we recommend that we spend."

If the Rogers proposal is approved, members would be allowed to vote on an amendment by New Jersey Republican Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen, calling for $33 billion in additional funds for the tri-state region and agencies assisting in the ongoing relief efforts.

Some Democrats -- the minority in the House -- vowed to argue on the floor today that Sandy is further proof that humans have an active role in the planet's climate patterns.

The fiscally conservative flank of the House GOP, meanwhile, is likely to oppose the Frelinghuysen amendment, suggesting it focuses too much on preparedness programs and not on immediate needs. Also, they will complain that the bill is not offset with spending cuts elsewhere in the federal budget.

"It's not paid for. It has nothing to do where the money is going. It has to do that it's off budget. It's not in the budget. This is extraordinary emergency spending. So the question is, are we going to pay for it or not?" Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-S.C.) said last night during a Rules Committee discussion on Sandy aid.

The Rules Committee made in order an amendment by Mulvaney that would require Rogers' $17 billion substitute measure be offset with funds from other agencies.

And while proponents of the broader relief package argue that Congress did not offset recent disaster relief packages, Mulvaney said he would "suggest that we have to do things differently than we have for the last 30 years, or else we'll end up pretty much right where we are."

The Rules panel also made in order 11 second-degree amendments to the Frelinghuysen amendment. They include an amendment from Rep. Paul Broun (R-Ga.) that would remove $13 million to fund an emergency response provision for the National Weather Service; an amendment from Rep. Bill Flores (R-Texas) that would remove $150 million for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's grant programs for ocean research, and Rep. John Fleming's (R-La.) amendment that would remove $9.8 million for a Fish and Wildlife Service sea wall repair project in Connecticut.

Another amendment, offered by Rules Committee member Rep. Rob Bishop (R-Utah), would prohibit the departments of the Interior and Agriculture from buying lands with the Sandy supplemental aid (see related story).

In all, a dozen amendments on the Sandy package will be considered today on the House floor. Last night, the House unanimously passed a bill to tweak FEMA's emergency procedures, making disaster aid easier to obtain.

In a statement yesterday, the White House called on lawmakers to pass the broader Sandy bill: "Given the emergency and one-time nature of this supplemental appropriation, and in keeping with the response to Hurricane Katrina, Deepwater Horizon, and other disasters ... all funding in the bill should be designated as an emergency requirement and not be offset."

Senate leaders, frustrated by the lack of action by the House, have called for a vote on the Sandy package next week. That chamber could clear a $50 billion bill for President Obama. It is unclear how Senate Democrats, who control that chamber, would react if just a $17 billion measure is sent to them.

Both the Senate-passed bill and the Frelinghuysen amendment would almost double the administration's $592 million request to repair flood control and beach protection projects. The Rogers proposal would provide slightly less than the administration's request.

The Frelinghuysen amendment also would provide $600 million in popular state revolving funds (SRFs) to support water infrastructure projects. That's $10 million less than the White House request and $210 million less than was in the Senate-passed bill.

Government watchdog groups, such as Citizens Against Government Waste and Taxpayers for Common Sense, have been critical of the expansive supplemental proposal, noting that several items do little to address emergencies. For instance, they point to $118 million called for in Frelinghuysen's amendment for Amtrak's Northeast service that would be used to make certain improvements to rail tracks.

"Out of one side of their mouth, lawmakers are saying that we need to deal with the across-the-board cuts that are sequestration and to reduce spending. Out of the other side of their mouth, they are calling a whole litany of regular spending items 'emergency' to evade budget caps," said Steve Ellis of the Washington-based Taxpayers for Common Sense. "Business as usual got us into this $16.4 trillion debt hole; it's sure not going to get us out of it."

Outside of Washington, D.C., government leaders have urged Congress to act. In New Jersey, Republican Gov. Chris Christie has pleaded with lawmakers to provide the Garden State with money to repair boardwalks along the state's shores, Atlantic City, and roads, bridges and rail corridors destroyed by the superstorm, calling out House Republicans for moving slowly on the legislation.

Before the 112th Congress adjourned, the Senate passed a broader Sandy package. The House planned to vote on that bill, but House leaders halted the move because they said it came too close to their resolution to the so-called fiscal cliff. Only after fierce bipartisan outcry from lawmakers from the Northeast, Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) called for quick votes this month on the Sandy aid.

House Republicans are forcing votes on amendments to restrict the Interior Department's use of Superstorm Sandy relief funds, part of a broader GOP effort to ensure disaster money is limited to areas directly affected by the October storm.

One amendment by Rep. Rob Bishop (R-Utah), chairman of the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Public Lands and Environmental Regulation, would bar Interior or the Forest Service from using any money to acquire new federal lands.

Another amendment by Rep. John Fleming (R-La.), chairman of the committee's Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans and Insular Affairs Subcommittee, would trim $10 million from the Fish and Wildlife Service for building seawalls and buildings on uninhabited islands in the Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge in Connecticut.

The House Rules Committee last night approved a rule allowing votes on both amendments but rejected separate amendments by Fleming that would block FWS from using any funds to relocate undamaged roads or install new water control equipment in wildlife refuges that were not damaged by the hurricane.

The measures were offered as second-degree amendments to a larger amendment by appropriator Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-N.J.) that would boost Sandy aid by $33.7 billion above the base House bill.

The Frelinghuysen amendment would provide more than half-a-billion dollars in additional funding for Interior agencies, bringing it in line with funding in the Sandy relief package passed by the Senate at the end of the last Congress.

Passage of Frelinghuysen's amendment depends in large part on the support of Democrats, moderate Republicans and Northeast lawmakers whose constituents were affected by the superstorm (see related story). The House will begin debate on the relief package today.

The amendment would boost National Park Service construction funding from $234 million to $348 million and provide an additional $50 million for historical preservation. It would raise relief funding for FWS from $50 million to $78 million.

It also would provide an additional $360 million to the Interior secretary to "restore and rebuild national parks, national wildlife refuges, and other federal public assets; [and] increase the resiliency and capacity of coastal habitat and infrastructure to withstand storms."

Bishop's amendment would ensure that the agency could not use any of that money to enlarge the federal estate at a time when it faces a multibillion-dollar maintenance backlog, said Bishop spokeswoman Melissa Subbotin.

In total, Fleming's amendments would have barred FWS from using roughly $18 million to repair seawalls and buildings on uninhabited islands or to move roads or install new water systems in North Carolina that were not damaged by Superstorm Sandy and for which the agency has not previously requested funding, he said.

"I recognize the value of preventive medicine, but I don't send my patients to the emergency room to receive that," he said.

The Frelinghuysen amendment is strongly supported by parks and refuge advocates, who warned yesterday that without additional funding, agencies would have to siphon funds away from programs across the country to recover from the storm.

"It's absolutely vital the [national wildlife] refuge system gets this funding," said Desiree Sorenson-Groves, vice president for government affairs at the National Wildlife Refuge Association, who added that she does not support the amendments by Bishop and Fleming.

The National Parks Conservation Association said failure to pass the Frelinghuysen amendment could delay efforts to reopen New York's Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island and coastal areas at Fire Island National Seashore and Gateway National Recreation Area, which could harm local tourism economies.

John Garder, budget and appropriations legislative representative for NPCA, said the base relief legislation from House Appropriations Chairman Hal Rogers (R-Ky.) is insufficient to ensure that parks are rebuilt to withstand future storms.

"I don't know that anyone could argue this bill is perfect, but it is a very important effort to find middle ground," he said. "This is funding that is long overdue."

According to an NPCA fact sheet, more than 925 personnel from 160 parks nationwide were redirected to cleanup and stabilization efforts at more than 70 storm-damaged park units. The group cited severe damage to mechanical systems at the Statue of Liberty and severe erosion and overwashes at Fire Island.

Separately, Colorado lawmakers of both parties proposed an amendment to Rogers' base bill that would provide $125 million for the Agriculture Department's emergency watershed protection program, which they argued is crucial for Colorado communities affected by last summer's wildfires (E&E Daily, Jan. 4).

Only 658 days remain until the 2014 midterm elections, and both Republican and Democratic congressional campaign committees have announced new staff lineups.

At the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, Guy Cecil will remain as executive director after a successful 2012 cycle in which Democrats picked up two seats while holding the chamber's majority -- in what appeared to be an election landscape that strongly favored Republicans.

Matt Canter has been promoted to deputy executive director after running the communications shop in the 2012 cycle.

"This team is battle tested, and they know exactly what we need to do to win," Cecil said in a statement last week. "I'm thrilled that we have been able to attract and retain the best talent in our party for the 2014 cycle. We are inheriting a difficult map -- something this group has become accustomed to -- but we will build strong campaigns and make sure we have the resources to win."

In the 2014 cycle, Democrats must defend 20 seats -- including in West Virginia, where Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D) has announced he will retire -- while Republicans have 13 seats up for election. Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado is the DSCC's new chairman.

Justin Barasky will become the DSCC's new national press secretary, off his stint as the communications director for Sen. Sherrod Brown's (D-Ohio) re-election bid last year. He has also held several posts on and off Capitol Hill, including as a press secretary for Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and as an aide to former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland (D).

Barasky is joined by Deputy Press Secretary Regan Page, who moves over from the Washington, D.C.-based communications firm GMMB.

Several key aides will retain their posts, including Research Director Patrick McHugh, National Finance Director Angelique Cannon, Digital Director Jason Rosenbaum, Chief Technology Officer Jude Meche and Chief Operating Officer Karen Hancox.

Christie Roberts will join the DSCC as its deputy research director after serving in the same post on Sen. Jon Tester's (D-Mont.) re-election campaign last cycle.

At the National Republican Senatorial Committee, Chairman Jerry Moran of Kansas hopes to turn around his party's two-seat loss in the previous cycle with the help of new Executive Director Rob Collins.

"As I work with my colleagues and Republican supporters across the country to help win back a Senate Republican majority, I'm pleased to have a conservative like Rob Collins working for us to help lead that charge," Moran said recently.

Collins is on leave from his post as a strategist at the D.C. firm Purple Strategies and previously served as chief of staff to House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.).

The NRSC has yet to announce any other staff changes.

Keeping House

In the battle for the other side of the Capitol, new National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Greg Walden of Oregon tapped Liesl Hickey to serve as executive director as it strives to maintain control of the House for another cycle.

"This all-star team is wasting no time preparing for the 2014 cycle," Hickey said in a December statement. Hickey ran the NRCC's Patriot Program in the 2012 cycle, which aimed to re-elect GOP members in competitive districts.

"Seasoned, experienced and aggressive, our incoming team is ready to hold Democrats accountable for their reckless record and build the Republican majority. The Republican House could not be in better hands with so much talent leading our efforts," she added.

Hickey is joined by deputy executive director and general counsel Jessica Furst, who served as the NRCC's general counsel last cycle. Furst joined the NRCC from the law firm Foley & Lardner's political law practice.

Former Georgia Deputy Secretary of State Rob Simms takes over as political director, after serving as a consultant at Red Maverick Media. Simms has also served as chief of staff to Rep. Bill Shuster (R-Pa.).

Bill Doblow will take on duties as the principal staff and adviser to Deputy NRCC Chairman Lynn Westmoreland of Georgia while also leading Cantor's political team. Doblow most recently served as Cantor's senior adviser on Capitol Hill.

Andrea Bozek moves up to become communications director after serving as a regional press secretary and then deputy communications director last cycle. Bozek is a former aide to Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain's 2008 presidential campaign.

After serving as Western regional press secretary at the committee last cycle, Daniel Scarpinato also moves up to become national press secretary.

Brandon Moody leaves his post as Rep. Sean Duffy's (R-Wis.) chief of staff to become the NRCC's new patriot director. Moody has also worked for Rep. Reid Ribble (R-Wis.) and Rep. Jim Gerlach (R-Pa.).

Several aides will also stay on in their posts for another cycle, including Finance Director Jenny Drucker, Digital Director Gerrit Lansing and Research Director Jon Black.

Nathaniel Sillin will also continue to serve as Northeast regional press secretary while Katie Prill will serve as Southeast and Midwest regional press secretary and Ian Prior joins the NRCC as the Western and Great Plains regional press secretary.

Tyler Houlton will return to the NRCC as its policy press secretary after running Compass Colorado, a conservative nonprofit, last cycle.

Two former aides to Mitt Romney's GOP presidential campaign also join the NRCC: Matt Gorman will be the rapid response director while Danielle Varallo will be the digital and press coordinator.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee also shuffled its staff in the new cycle, and Rep. Steve Israel of New York has returned for another stint as chairman.

Executive Director Kelly Ward was promoted in December after serving as the DCCC's political director.

"Our new senior staff is a diverse team, and all have strong experience and a deep commitment to electing Democrats across the country," Ward said last week. "They have the talent, drive and skill necessary to retire the Tea Party House Republicans once and for all."

Jesse Ferguson, who served as national press secretary last cycle, likewise moves up to become deputy executive director and communications director, and former National Finance Director Missy Kurek becomes the deputy executive director for finance.

Chief Financial Officer Jackie Forte-Mackay will remain in her post for a 10th cycle, while Hayley Dierker becomes chief operating officer; Lisa Rose becomes chief administrative officer after serving as deputy director of the DCCC's independent expenditure program last cycle.

After serving as a regional political director last cycle, Brian Zuzenak becomes the new political director. He is a former executive director of the Missouri Democratic Party. Ian Russell, previously the Midwest political director, will become the new campaign and candidate recruitment director.

Charles Benton will retain his post as director of member services, while Adam Broder will serve as the research director and strategic communications adviser. Digital Director Brandon English will continue the same role for another cycle.

Sen. Joe Manchin's (D-W.Va.) former spokeswoman Emily Bittner will become national press secretary and senior communications adviser at the committee this cycle.

Nicole Eynard moves up to be the candidate fundraising director after spending a cycle as the DCCC's Midwest candidate services regional director. Also advancing from her post as deputy national finance director is Stella Ross, who becomes the national finance director.

DCCC veteran Joe Cross returns to the committee to be director of direct marketing, after working on various campaigns and nonprofits. He previously worked at the DCCC in the 2004 and 2006 cycles.

U.S. EPA officials late yesterday released more than 2,100 emails in response to the ongoing controversy surrounding Administrator Lisa Jackson's use of an alternative email account that allowed her to conduct official agency business under the alias Richard Windsor.

But a free-market public policy group last night blasted the agency for releasing a slew of filler and non-relevant emails in an attempt to stonewall efforts to shed light on how and why Jackson used an alias email address.

The 2,100 emails were released in response to a Freedom of Information Act case brought by Christopher Horner, a senior fellow in the Center for Energy and Environment at the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), who first discovered the use of the alternative email address last year.

Horner has charged that such an alias email address circumvents federal records management requirements and has sought access to certain emails from the secondary account. Horner's concerns have been echoed by multiple House committees and good governance groups.

Last month, EPA's own inspector general opened an investigation into the management and use of the secondary account (Greenwire, Dec. 17, 2012).

In a cover letter included in yesterday's document release, the director of EPA's record management office acknowledged that Jackson uses a secondary official government email account to conduct EPA business but noted that the account's contents "are maintained in accordance with federal recordkeeping guidelines and are searched in response to FOIA requests."

EPA officials have previously said that given the large volume of emails sent to Jackson's public account -- more than 1.5 million communications in fiscal 2012 -- the internal email account is necessary for effective management and communication between the administrator and agency colleagues. The agency has said that the practice has been a long-standing one for agency administrators.

Jackson's internal account used the name Richard Windsor, a combination of the name of a family pet and East Windsor, N.J., a town where she lived.

Horner noted in a release from CEI last night that the name Richard Windsor is absent from yesterday's email release.

The cover letter from EPA notes that the name on the account for which the agency was providing emails had been redacted and marked simply "administrator" in order to "preserve the ongoing utility of the email account and to clearly identify the records as being to or from the Administrator."

Horner also said yesterday that the FOIA response was filled with news clippings and Google alerts that include the terms "Lisa Jackson" and "EPA" but not the term "Richard Windsor."

"It seems EPA simply decided it had to produce a lot of something. Desperate to produce nothing at the same time, it came up with this," Horner said. "But in the details, the desperation shows through."

Horner said that rather than search or produce emails from the Richard Windsor account, it now seems that the agency intends to pretend the account does not exist.

"This presents EPA with a fork in the road: Burrow deeper into the bunker, and interpret that this request sought only the secondary account that shows Jackson's name, or come clean and search her various non-public, alias accounts," he said.

The next New Jersey Senate race has all the trappings of a classic no-holds-barred Garden State brawl: a potential challenger who is a rapidly rising star. An established incumbent on retirement watch. And bad blood between the two sides bubbling up in the press.

And the election is still nearly two years away.

Such is the situation as Democratic Sen. Frank Lautenberg mulls whether to seek another term in the upper chamber. Lautenberg turns 89 next week, leading many -- including Newark Mayor Cory Booker -- to wonder whether Lautenberg will retire.

Booker, also a Democrat, made waves last month when he filed papers to explore a Senate run, passing on the opportunity to challenge popular Republican Gov. Chris Christie this year. And on Sunday, he left the door open to challenging Lautenberg in a Democratic primary.

"I'm not ruling out anything right now, but I think it's premature to be speculative," Booker said on NBC's "Meet the Press."

The 43-year-old mayor, perhaps trying to quell rumors that he is trying to force Lautenberg out of the race, said he has reached out to the senator.

"We even had a trip down here [to Washington] to speak with him, but he wasn't able to speak," Booker said.

Those remarks came after an anonymous Lautenberg aide slammed Booker in a Politico article, calling him "self-absorbed and disrespectful."

"It's shameful that he avoided challenging a Republican just so that he can take on a long-serving, loyal Democrat," the aide said.

A potential Democratic primary, which could also include Rep. Frank Pallone, or a Lautenberg retirement could bring greater urgency to one of Lautenberg's legacy issues: reforming the country's chemical regulations.

Just as he was relentless in his quest to ban smoking from airplanes in the late 1980s, Lautenberg has similarly attacked the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act, or TSCA. He plans to re-introduce his "Safe Chemicals Act," which requires chemical makers to prove their substances are safe before they go on the market, in the new Congress.

The bill advanced out of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee last year but stalled because it lacked Republican support (E&E Daily, Aug. 2, 2012).

Advocates, however, believe they have a better chance of moving the bill this Congress, with the slightly expanded Democratic Senate majority (E&E Daily, Nov. 8, 2012).

Caley Gray, a spokesman for Lautenberg, said the senator will push hard for TSCA reform this Congress -- regardless of the political situation in New Jersey.

"Sen. Lautenberg will remain focused on reforming our broken chemical laws so that we can better protect families and children," Gray said in an email. "Sen. Lautenberg will not be distracted by political games in New Jersey as he keeps fighting to pass the Safe Chemicals Act."

'A huge brand'

Because of Booker's star power, Lautenberg may begin the race in the unusual position of being an incumbent underdog.

A Fairleigh Dickinson University PublicMind poll conducted Jan. 2-6 found that 42 percent of Democratic respondents preferred Booker over Lautenberg, who registered 20 percent. The poll also found that Booker, who was widely praised for his response to Superstorm Sandy, has a higher favorability rating than Lautenberg, 66 percent to 45 percent. The poll surveyed 700 registered voters and had a margin of error of 3.7 points.

Those numbers have led many New Jersey observers to believe Booker will get into the race, whether Lautenberg decides to retire or not.

"I think everyone expects that he will get in the race," said Ben Dworkin of Rider University's Rebovich Institute for New Jersey Politics. "He's obviously filed to start fundraising; I think it is widely assumed that he will actually go through with it."

Lautenberg would have some advantages, though. For one, he would start the race with $400,000 in his campaign account, and he has a massive personal fortune he could draw from. He also has existing relationships with county Democratic organizations, which are critical in New Jersey politics. Party leaders now are scouting for a challenger to Christie, whose personal popularity has soared after Superstorm Sandy, but they will soon turn their attention to the Senate contest.

Dworkin, however, said Booker may be able to blunt Lautenberg's fundraising advantage and insider support quickly.

"In the end, Cory Booker is a huge brand and can raise tremendous money," he said. "And he will probably bring strength to the ticket."

Further complicating the picture is Pallone, who is sitting on a whopping $3.5 million in his campaign bank account. The 14-term congressman has long wanted to move up and has reportedly expressed interest in the race to state party leaders but has remained mum publicly.

From a public health perspective, Pallone may be viewed as a logical successor to Lautenberg. Pallone has introduced several pieces of legislation aimed at toxics, including measures to limit the amount of arsenic in food and beverages (E&ENews PM, Feb. 23, 2012).

Pallone's office did not respond to a request for comment.

Given its failure last year to muster support for passing a five-year farm bill, rural America must confront its loss of political influence in Congress, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said yesterday in a speech to the American Farm Bureau Federation.

It's time, he said, for farmers and ranchers to build alliances and do "constructive engaging" with traditional foes of the agricultural sector.

"Whether we like it or not, I think we have to address and we have to acknowledge that the political clout that rural America once had, it doesn't have as much today," Vilsack said in a half-hour speech at the group's annual meeting in Nashville, Tenn. "And it's going to be important and necessary for us to have a conversation about how we rebuild that political capacity, and I believe we can."

Vilsack's speech echoed remarks he made last month in Washington, D.C., about rural America becoming less relevant.

At that time, House Agriculture Committee leaders were struggling to persuade House Republican leaders to bring a full farm bill to the floor. Versions of the measure had passed the Senate and the House agriculture panels, but the legislation went no further; a partial nine-month extension of the farm bill was instead included in the "fiscal cliff" deal, which punted work on the five-year legislation to this year.

The farm bill is a five-year measure that funds conservation, energy and organic initiatives, as well as commodity subsidies and the national food stamps program. The previous one was passed in 2008.

In his speech yesterday to the nation's largest farm group, Vilsack pointed out that more than 50 percent of rural counties had lost population over the last decade and that a smaller percentage of Americans than ever are farmers.

"It's pretty simple: Fewer people ultimately reflects itself in fewer people in Congress, in state legislatures, who understand and appreciate the challenges and the opportunities of rural America," Vilsack said.

In a separate news conference last weekend, American Farm Bureau Federation President Bob Stallman expressed disappointment in not seeing a five-year farm bill by the end of last year.

"We were frustrated that we came so close to getting a full five-year farm bill in the fall," Stallman said. "Our mantra was continual in saying that we want a farm bill now. And so we were disappointed when that didn't happen."

He brushed off the notion, though, that agriculture lost its ability in the previous Congress to woo lawmakers.

"I still think we have significant leverage," Stallman said. "There wasn't a lot of change. We're dealing with some well-established friends, well-established opponents, as we have in the past."

Agriculture had an opportunity in a nonelection year to gather support for the full farm bill and called on farmers and ranchers to work to bring the new members of Congress up to speed on the bureau's policy positions.

Vilsack also called on rural America to take an active role in trying to regain its clout, partly by enticing young farmers with the opportunities in agriculture to find solutions to climate change.

He also urged members of the Farm Bureau to take part in "constructive engaging," listing as examples his attempts over the past four years to work with U.S. EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson on environmental regulations and an agreement between USDA and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to raise agriculture's profile.

The egg industry's strange-bedfellow partnership in 2011 with the Humane Society of the United States to push for federal legislation to standardize cages was another example of "what we need to do," Vilsack said.

Vilsack also told the farmers and ranchers in the audience to "take a stand" and support Republican Chuck Hagel, President Obama's nominee for secretary of Defense, as a way of conveying agriculture's message in an "unconventional way."

"Let me tell you why I want Chuck Hagel. Because he's from Nebraska. And being from Nebraska, he understands and appreciates the role of the bio-based economy," Vilsack said, "and he would be a secretary of Defense that would probably be quite supportive of the notion that our military should be more dependent on domestically produced fuel and energy than on imported fuel and energy. He could be a secretary of Defense who could champion our commitment to the bio-based economy."

Vilsack also announced he would remain Agriculture secretary for Obama's second term. In a statement, he said he shared with the president a "deep appreciation for rural America and its unlimited potential" to feed the globe, protect natural resources and "revolutionize" the nation's energy.

For Rep. Marc Veasey (D-Texas), the local impact of energy development hits close to home.

He remembers when a landman came into his old Fort Worth, Texas, neighborhood six years ago, trying to hash out deals with residents. Fort Worth is perched atop the Barnett Shale, a natural gas deposit, and at the time, landmen were scouting the area, asking residents to sign leases allowing natural gas interests to drill.

SPECIAL SERIES

E&E Daily profiles new members of Congress who will quickly become players on energy and environmental issues.

Veasey, then a state legislator, said he was wary about the deal offered in his neighborhood, and he encouraged his neighbors to hold out for something better.

But some, he said, wouldn't heed his advice.

"This is something that doesn't happen that often," Veasey recalled one man saying. "This is a gift. And we should be grateful."

In the end, Veasey said, those who waited got a bigger payout, and a few admitted later they should have held off. The ones who signed early received $200, he said, but one man who lived down the street got $1,600. Veasey said that too often landmen would undercut underserved, low-income communities when offering lease deals.

"That is a big issue with a lot of these neighborhoods," Veasey said, thinking back. "You shouldn't see the oil and gas company as someone who's coming in to save you or something that's coming in to do you a favor."

Now a freshman in the U.S. House representing Texas' new 33rd District, Veasey said his experience living and representing an urban area where companies are drilling for energy resources gives him a unique perspective.

"No one can really tell that story as well as I can here -- particularly in the Democratic caucus," he said.

A former sports journalist, Rep. Marc Veasey (D-Texas) is an avowed Dallas Cowboys fan. Courtesy of Rep. Veasey's congressional office.

Veasey's interest in politics came early, originally stemming from his uncle, who worked for then-U.S. House Majority Leader (and later Speaker) Jim Wright (D-Texas). After a stint as a sports writer for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Veasey served as a field representative for former Rep. Martin Frost (D-Texas) from 1998 to 2004. Then he was elected to the state Legislature.

"He's very capable -- someone who is very knowledgeable about the community," said Frost, one of the most influential Democrats in Texas, who endorsed and campaigned for Veasey.

Veasey has strong roots in the area he represents. He spent his childhood in Fort Worth and attended college in town at Texas Wesleyan University. His House district, which includes parts of Dallas and Fort Worth, almost completely encompasses his old legislative district (E&E Daily, May 24, 2012). And Frost said that he once represented a large part of Veasey's new district.

Proposed landmen regulations

Issues related to the Barnett Shale loomed big in Veasey's state House district. While serving in the Texas Legislature, Veasey twice introduced legislation to require landmen to obtain licenses while operating in Texas. He said the legislation, which failed to pass, would have required landmen to make more attractive offers and helped empower communities to negotiate the deals.

Martin Schardt, executive vice president of the American Association of Professional Landmen, said that his group was "very disappointed" when Veasey proposed the licensing legislation -- and noted that the legislation was "soundly" voted down. Every industry, even those that license, has a few bad characters, he said.

"We do understand," Schardt said. "In his district there in Texas, there were a couple issues that came up that probably should never have happened. And, you know, we can't be responsible for every individual out there, and the things they do."

Schardt said he met with Veasey to express his concerns about the legislation, emphasizing that it is in his organization's best interest for the public to have a positive impression of landmen.

But despite the disagreement on the legislation, Schardt acknowledged Veasey works to represent his district's interests. "You know, Marc's a good guy," Schardt said. "He definitely has the heart of his district and his constituency" in mind.

Schardt said that he doesn't anticipate there will be national legislation that will directly affect workers in his profession. But if there is, Schardt said, he would anticipate a lot of questions from Veasey's office.

Weighing energy needs with responsibility

While in the Legislature, Veasey helped shape the district he would come to represent. Veasey was a leader in a Democratic effort to block the redistricting plan approved by the Texas Republican leadership. Veasey is holding one of the four new congressional seats that Texas received after the latest census. He also spoke out against air pollution linked to tapping the Barnett Shale, and he served as the Democratic Caucus chairman.

"He's a very effective advocate for his district," Frost said. "He's certainly worked hard to bring economic activity to his district, [and] was well regarded in the Legislature."

Texas state Rep. Lon Burnam (D) said that Veasey had a reputation as a team player.

"He's very congenial," said Burnam, who considers Veasey a friend. "He gets along well with people -- even if he disagrees with them."

Cyrus Reed, conservation director for the Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club, said that Veasey has a positive reputation among Texas environmentalists. In 2011, Veasey received a 100 percent rating from the club on the votes he was present for. Veasey's interest in environmental issues, Reed speculates, stems from a desire to help his working-class district.

"I think he sees it as a fairness issue," Reed said. "I can't really speak for him. But ... the types of policies that tend to benefit working-class people are things like water conservation or energy efficiency -- things that help reduce bills but also reduce pollution or waste."

Reed said he hopes Veasey will be an advocate for environmental causes in the House, and he noted that the Sierra Club sent volunteers to campaign on his behalf.

Even so, Veasey said that he has a practical perspective on energy.

"I certainly drive to work every day," he said. "And I turn on lights every day. So I certainly understand that we all need energy. But there is certainly a responsible way to do all of these things."

During his congressional race, Veasey came in first in an 11-person primary and won a runoff election against Domingo Garcia, a former member of the state House. Veasey then easily beat his Republican opponent in the general election.

Looking ahead to this session of Congress, Veasey said he is eager to share his perspective on energy development -- particularly natural gas -- with colleagues. And he said that he also is interested in food and energy waste issues. He will be serving on the House Science, Space and Technology Committee and Armed Services Committee.

But in the meantime, he's getting his bearings in Washington, D.C. After his swearing-in ceremony on Jan. 3, he went with his wife and 6-year-old son to Union Station to celebrate his 42nd birthday over pizza. Getting sworn in was quite a birthday gift, he said. But, he added, "It was nice to just to get to spend time with family."

Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) yesterday said the Energy Department's plan to turn surplus weapons-grade plutonium into reactor fuel is uneconomical and should be rethought.

Markey, an outspoken nuclear skeptic, wrote Energy Secretary Steven Chu that the proposal to make mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel from the plutonium is too costly and raises security concerns, and that there is insufficient demand for MOX fuel.

Noting his longtime opposition to the plans, Markey cited several recent reports that say the project "may be over budget, behind schedule, and lacking even a single customer for its product," and said they "call into question the viability and fiscal wisdom of the Department's current approach."

At issue is DOE's plan to build a MOX facility at the Savannah River Site near Aiken, S.C., where MOX -- made of a combination of plutonium and uranium -- would be turned into fuel for reactors.

The Tennessee Valley Authority said last summer it would consider using MOX from surplus nuclear weapons to power nuclear plants (Greenwire, July 26, 2012). TVA said at the time that the Sequoyah and Browns Ferry plants were looking to use the fuel, and that the utility was testing a kind of MOX fuel made from old nuclear weapons at its Soddy-Daisy, Tenn., and Athens, Ala., reactors.

But opponents of the fuel say it makes reactors more difficult to control because it is a hotter blend of fuel.

And Markey pointed out that TVA hasn't yet agreed to use the MOX fuel and that the federal government hasn't identified other utilities that are planning to use it.

That point also was made in a 2010 Government Accountability Office report, which found the National Nuclear Security Administration had not sufficiently reached out to utilities that would make the necessary changes to their reactors to take the fuel after it has been converted. GAO said most utilities show little interest or do not know of possible incentives NNSA is offering for the program (E&ENews PM, March 29, 2010).

Markey also said that the United States hasn't approved MOX for use in commercial reactors and that lengthy testing procedures would be necessary for it to do so.

"The government's plutonium plan is a pluperfect disaster," Markey said in a statement when he released the letter. "It is over budget, riddled with delays and problems, and is producing a product that no one wants. And all to produce $2 billion worth of reactor fuel at a cost of tens of billions of taxpayer dollars and damage to our global non-proliferation efforts."

Markey asked Chu to explain how much the MOX plant will cost, when it will come into operation and how long it will operate. The congressman also asked which plants would use the MOX fuel and how DOE will go about securing those agreements.

Click here to read Markey's letter.

The Treasury Department and IRS are preparing joint guidance to flesh out the implications of a significant tweak to a key renewable energy tax cut that was signed into law this month, an official said yesterday.

The timing of the guidance on the new eligibility requirements for the production tax cut remains unclear. Treasury and IRS need to determine how exactly to define when wind and other renewable energy developers can claim the credit after Congress approved a change to its eligibility requirements.

In extending the PTC through the end of the year, as part of the broader "fiscal cliff" deal earlier this month, lawmakers extended the credit to projects that start construction by Dec. 31, 2013, rather than requiring them to be "in service" by that date, as had previously been required.

"We're aware of the need for guidance, and it's forthcoming," said the Treasury official, who requested anonymity and declined to provide additional information on its timing or contents, aside from clarifying that it would be a joint product of Treasury and IRS.

Congressional aides and industry sources say they expect the guidelines to largely mirror those Treasury outlined for the clean energy grant program created in the 2009 stimulus law, known as 1603. That program offered a 30 percent grant in lieu of an investment tax credit for projects whose construction started by the end of 2011.

"The qualification rule for PTC will definitely be more involved than turning over a shovel of dirt. For example, in the Section 1603 program, a certain percent of total project expenditures must be made to satisfy it," said a Senate aide familiar with the legislation. "That's the type of standard to expect."

Treasury generally required project developers to incur 5 percent of the costs of the project by the 1603 deadline to achieve "safe harbor" status, allowing them to be eligible for the grant.

The changed eligibility requirements were first outlined in a "tax extenders" bill passed last summer by the Senate Finance Committee that was included verbatim in this month's fiscal cliff deal. Wind developers, who were facing an expiration of the credit at the end of last year, said changing the requirements would be necessary to account for the 18 months it generally takes to get a project up and running. Without the shift, they said, extending the credit for just a year would do little to encourage new projects.

Other industries that have the PTC through the end of this year -- geothermal, waste-to-energy, biomass and hydropower -- also lobbied for the language change, arguing that it would facilitate more activity in their industries, where projects can take several years to build.

Guidance from Treasury will send an important signal to renewable companies to assure them that support from the PTC will be available for projects that won't be complete by the end of this year.

"The importance of it is that it sends the signal, not only to markets but to the companies that are making [capital expenditure] allocations, that the program is going to be around for more than a year," said one lobbyist who represents several clients in the wind industry. "You've got to know the benefit is going to be there when you start competing for dollars inside a large corporation."

A spokeswoman for House Natural Resources Chairman Doc Hastings (R-Wash.) is leaving Congress to work for North Carolina's new Republican governor.

Crystal Feldman, a North Carolina native who joined Hastings' committee at the beginning of the 112th Congress, will serve as press secretary for Gov. Pat McCrory, who was inaugurated last weekend.

Feldman supported the committee's work on endangered species, public lands and forests, wildfires, logging, and fisheries, among other issues.

The Georgetown University graduate previously served as spokeswoman for the California Republican Party and was communications director for Sue Lowden's 2010 run for Republican nominee for U.S. Senate in Nevada, a race Lowden lost to Sharron Angle.

Feldman has also served as an account manager for the DCI Group and was an associate at Sulgrave Partners.

In a recent open letter to President Obama, the Clean Air Task Force highlighted a series of climate policy recommendations that could help the United States achieve its 2020 emissions reduction goals without the need for congressional intervention. During today's OnPoint, Conrad Schneider, advocacy director at the Clean Air Task Force, discusses the letter and explains what he believes should be done in the transportation sector, on innovation and in the exploration of natural gas to further the United States' climate goals. Today's OnPoint will air at 10 a.m EST.