Monday, June 29, 2009

Obama Speaks on Energy Efficiency - Video June 29

Obama talks about lightbulbs and energy efficient technologies in homes and commercial buildings:

Climate bill has a long slog ahead. Chances of passing=Zero.

Obama gave an interview on Sunday to a few reporters regarding energy. Read the transcript here. What's ahead in the Senate:
Q. Talking about the regional differences, as you well know they're much more pronounced in the Senate. What do you expect from the Senate from this bill and how do you think it will change?

President Obama: One of the things that we were convinced of was that we could not get the Senate to move aggressively until they saw how the politics aligned in the House. And I think now that you've seen somebody like a Rick Boucher of Virginia able to enter into very constructive negotiations with a Henry Waxman of California, that, I think, provides a blueprint for how the Senate can proceed.

And I think that there is a clear sense on the part of the American people, on the part of governors -- both Republican and Democrat, mayors -- both Republican and Democrat -- that the future is in clean energy and we need to do something about it. So my expectation is that the Senate is going to move forward; they're not going to have a bill that's identical to the House bill. This will end up in conference and there are going to be a series of tough negotiations. But I think the ability of the House to move forward is going to be a prod for the Senate towards action.