In This Issue:

Energy and Climate Debate; Congress; Department of Commerce; Department of Energy; Department of Interior; Environmental Protection Agency; General Services Administration; States; International; and Miscellaneous.

Excerpt from Energy and Climate Debate

With high gas prices on the rise, energy issues, and disagreements over the best solutions to their problems, continue to dominate the debate. On the larger Congressional agenda, the Senate will continue work on the highway bill, with the House focusing on China tariff and small business legislation – including pieces of the larger JOBS Act.

At a speech in New Hampshire March 1, President Obama countered a common Republican narrative that blames the recent gas price spike on Administration policies by asking Congress to end $4 billion in subsidies for oil and gas companies and vowing to tackle the nation’s long-term energy issues while shunning bumper-sticker election year promises to lower gas prices. While legislation eliminating the subsidies is unlikely to soon win congressional approval because Republicans and some Democrats oppose the plan, the Obama Administration continues to look for other solutions while adopting an all of the above energy strategy. The President made similar statements in his weekly address on Saturday, underscoring the importance the Obama Administration places on addressing gas prices, while Rep. Doc Hastings, Chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, used his weekly radio address to call on eliminating regulatory barriers to domestic energy production.