On May 10th Former Energy Secretary Abraham spoke on his predictions for the future energy policies during a symposium at the AT&T Conference Center hosted by the Eaton Corp.
Don’t look for a climate change bill to reach President Obama’s desk without support from South Carolina Republican Lindsey Graham, former U.S. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham said. “It’s going to find itself very much on a slow track, and the chance of its passage gets very slim,” said Abraham. The climate change bill was unveiled last week by Sens. John Kerry (D-MA) and Joe Lieberman (I-CT) – the “American Power Act.” Graham had been working with Kerry & Leiberman on the legislation but dropped out of discussions.
In terms of renewable energy, Abraham noted that sentiments such as “not in my backyard” have challenged traditional energy exploration causing an increased interest in renewable energy. However, he also pointed out certain tensions in this arena such as developing transmission lines to the renewable energy and arising complaints on wind turbines. “I think we are going to find this to be more controversial than most people are expecting,” he said referring to renewable energy.
In regards to other energy legislation, Abraham commented on legislation that is working its way through U.S. Congress which will promote the construction of new, more efficient homes and businesses and to retrofit existing structures to save energy.
Abraham also offered his predictions on midterm elections arguing that the U.S. Senate could see the biggest turnover in decades. He believes the anti-incumbent mood is affecting both parties.