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Bill Richardson: Osama bin Laden's death changes climate on energy

Former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson hopes that Osama bin Laden's death will spur President Barack Obama to promote climate change legislation.

“My hope is that from this success in the foreign policy arena two days ago, that he will be emboldened to take once again to the Congress legislation — not just to increase a renewable energy standard — but climate change legislation that this country and the world need,” Richardson said Tuesday at a Climate Leadership Gala hosted by the Earth Day Network in Washington.

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Climate change legislation, particularly anything labeled as toxic as “cap and trade,” is seen as non-starter while Republicans hold the House and many Senate Democrats are wary of the issue. But Richardson warned climate bill backers against standing on the sidelines.

“We can sit back and say, ‘Well we’ll wait until the next election, wait until the political climate is better.’ You know if we do that, we’re doomed — if we don’t take action right away,” he said.

The former energy secretary and U.S. ambassador to the United Nations in the Clinton administration called for a comprehensive nationwide greenhouse gas reduction program in addition to a national renewable energy standard.

Richardson suggested Obama offer Congress two options: an economy-wide cap-and-trade program with stringent timetables over several decades and a carbon tax. And if Congress fails to do either of those, EPA must plow ahead with climate change regulations, he said.

“I’m still one of those who supports cap and trade, but it’s good I believe to offer choices,” he said.

This article first appeared on POLITICO Pro at 7:06 a.m. on May 4, 2011.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid slipped and fell in the rain on a morning run Wednesday and has suffered minor injuries.

The Nevada Democrat dislocated his shoulder and has a bump over his left eye after the fall, spokesman Adam Jentleson confirmed to POLITICO. As of late morning, Reid, 71, was already back at the Senate having meetings and plans to “be back in the office for a regular day,” Jentleson said.

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At the start of Senate proceedings for the day, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) took his place.

Reid slipped when he went to lean on a parked car after a run in rainy downtown Washington in the 8 a.m. hour, the spokesman said. His security team took him to George Washington University Hospital, just blocks from his home, where he was examined for a concussion or other injuries, treated for the injuries he did suffer, and then released.

On the way to the hospital, Reid was “making jokes about what had happened” and is now “in good spirits,” Jentleson said.

At the start of Senate proceedings Wednesday morning, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) took his place.


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