LCV’S SPENDING PLANS: The League of Conservation Voters is announcing its “largest investment ever” in its voter mobilization program, in support of Vice President Kamala Harris and congressional candidates.
What’s happening: The group announced Thursday that it will pour $2.5 million into its GreenRoots Member Mobilization Field Program to organize in a number of swing states and districts, such as those in Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Wisconsin.
The funds will go towards turning out voters to support Harris and other Democratic candidates. LCV members are expected to knock on doors, make calls, and write letters to voters.
The groundswell of support isn’t just from LCV: Just yesterday, the Green New Deal Network announced it would back Harris – an endorsement that President Joe Biden was unable to obtain, due to his backing of Israel in its conflict in Gaza and his support for fossil fuels.
Other green groups that Harris was able to get an endorsement from that Biden wasn’t: 350 Action, Center for Biological Diversity Action Fund, Clean Water Action, Climate Hawks Vote, Food and Water Action, and Friends of the Earth Action.
But will this momentum continue? During a youth leaders press call with representatives from organizations like LCV and Voters of Tomorrow, activists touted the groundswell of financial support following Harris’ announcement to enter the race . Jessica Siles, the deputy press secretary of Voters of Tomorrow, noted the group had a virtual address from Harris this past weekend, where Harris noted she wanted to “earn the youth vote.”
“I definitely think in the next 90 or so days, she's going to definitely have to come out with a policy platform and have to earn that vote from young voters on these issues,” she noted.
Why this is important: While momentum is high, it will have to continue all the way to November. Harris will have to balance attracting youth climate voters, who are pressing her to keep to her liberal record on energy, versus appealing to swing voters in traditional, fossil fuel jobs.
Welcome to Daily on Energy, written by Washington Examiner Energy and Environment writer Nancy Vu ( @NancyVu99 ), with help from policy editor Joseph Lawler . Email nancy.vu@washingtonexaminer dot com for tips, suggestions, calendar items, and anything else. If a friend sent this to you and you’d like to sign up, click here . If signing up doesn’t work, shoot us an email, and we’ll add you to our list.
FUEL WAIVERS ISSUED BY EPA: The Environmental Protection Agency has issued an emergency fuel waiver to help alleviate shortages in four states affected by an ExxonMobil refinery shutdown.
What happened: A refinery in Illinois had experienced an emergency shutdown from a power outage after a storm of tornadoes hit the state last month. Although power was restored, it can take weeks to restore the power of a large facility. The facility produces about 9 million gallons of fuel every day.
What the order does: The move would waive federal and state requirements that regulate the volatility and emissions of gasoline. The fuel would then be quickly approved for the states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin. The waiver will continue until Aug. 20.
“As a result of the ExxonMobil refinery shutdown, Administrator [Michael] Regan determined that extreme and unusual fuel supply circumstances exist and has granted a temporary waiver to help ensure that an adequate supply of gasoline is available in the affected areas until normal supply to the region can be restored,” the EPA press office said in a written statement.
The EPA stated that it would continue to “actively monitor” the fuel supply situation and is “considering additional measures to alleviate the impact.”
SENATE ENERGY AND WATER FUNDING BILL PASSES COMMITTEE: The Senate Appropriations Committee unanimously approved a measure to fund the Department of Energy and water development for fiscal year 2025 on Thursday.
The bipartisan bill would provide $61.5 billion in discretionary funding, including $35 billion in defense funding and $26.5 billion in non-defense funding.
“This bipartisan bill delivers new investments to advance cutting-edge scientific research happening at labs across the country, to support critical water infrastructure, and to prepare communities for extreme weather events,” said Sen. Patty Murray , chairwoman of the Senate Appropriations Committee and the Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development.
On the other side of the Capitol: The House version of the bill, however, provides $59 billion in total discretionary funding – and is filled with partisan policy riders. The measure was pulled from floor consideration amid whipping issues and disagreement on how to navigate votes on controversial policy riders. A few other appropriation measures were pulled from floor consideration, with many of them being normally noncontroversial.
What’s next: Lawmakers are officially gone for the August recess, and will have to work within a time crunch to get either a package or separate appropriation bills passed – or face the option of a stop-gap funding measure. However, it’s looking increasingly less likely members will be able to pass all 12 funding bills through regular order.
OPEC+ MAINTAINS OIL OUTPUT: Top OPEC+ ministers have agreed to maintain their oil production policy, holding up a plan to reduce daily output – but reiterated that the move could be paused or reversed, depending on the market, Reuters reports.
An online meeting between ministers from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies was held on Thursday. The group is currently cutting a total of 5.86 million barrels per day to help support the market amid unsteady global demand and increased supply from competitors. In a statement following the meeting, the members reiterated that the most recent cuts – a voluntary reduction of 2.2 million barrels per day until September – can be rolled back or paused, if necessary.
The bloc had agreed in June to phase out the latest layer of cuts between October 2024 to September 2025, and extend earlier cuts of more than 3.6 billion until the end of 2025. Saudi Arabian Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman noted that OPEC+ could pause or reverse the production hikes if the market wasn’t strong enough. Read more on that here.
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