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Obama in Austin

Why Republicans Think the IRS Scandal Is More Politically Potent Than Benghazi

Elahe Izadi | May 16, 2013
GOP strategists give advice on the best way to talk about the brewing scandals for political benefit.
aliens

From Pandora to D.C.: 1 Man's Quest to Make Aliens Seem Real

Ben Terris | May 1, 2013
Reuben Langdon spent four years flying around on make-believe aliens as the lead stunt double on Avatar. Now, he’s in D.C. trying to convince the world that such an extraterrestrial being could exist.
Rep. Mike Pompeo, R-Kan

Conservatives Come Out for Renewable-Energy Projects

Amy Harder | April 23, 2013
Defying conventional wisdom in the era of Solyndra, conservatives in Washington are coming out to back renewable energy.
Sources of Energy Graphic

Hydropower Bills Enjoy Bipartisan Support in Congress

Amy Harder | April 22, 2013
With a pair of bills on hydropower, lawmakers are reviving two pieces of conventional wisdom long forgotten in gridlocked Washington: Energy issues tend to be more geographical than ideological, and Republicans can (and do) support renewable energy.
100113_agriculture_496w.jpg

Long List of Lobbies Oppose Renewable-Fuels Standard

Amy Harder | April 17, 2013
It’s hard to rival the diversity and sheer number of groups and companies with a vested interest in the renewable-fuels standard, from food and livestock businesses to those in the environmental and energy sectors.
veronica mars

Crowdfunding Everything From Solar Panels to Veronica Mars

Sophie Quinton | April 17, 2013
A growing number of online companies help connect entrepreneurs and borrowers with investors and donors.
Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley

The O'Malley Factor

Ronald Brownstein | April 11, 2013
Can Gov. Martin O'Malley ride his Maryland success to the White House? 
Sen. Murray

Sen. Murray Keeps Hanford Nuclear Site Safe From Budget Cuts

Amy Harder | April 8, 2013
She may not attend Tuesday’s confirmation hearing for Ernest Moniz, President Obama’s nominee for Energy secretary, but you can bet Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., will make sure the department has all the money it needs to keep the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in her home state running safely.
Moniz

New Era for Energy Department Expected Under a Secretary Moniz

Coral Davenport | April 8, 2013
With stimulus funding for clean energy at an end, climate-change policy dead in Congress, and harsh budget cuts looming over all agencies thanks to the sequestration, the days of President Obama’s vision of the Energy Department as a green juggernaut have probably come to an end.
Ernest Moniz, Obama's Reported Pick to Head the Energy Department

Sen. Wyden to Grill Obama's Energy Nominee on Nuclear-Waste Site

Amy Harder | April 7, 2013
On Tuesday, Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Ernest Moniz, President Obama’s nominee for Energy secretary, are going to square off like it’s 1998.
DOE SOLAR PANELS

Solar Panels Are Finally Generating More Energy Than They Use

Todd Woody and Quartz | April 5, 2013
Despite the exponential growth of solar energy over the past 13 years, the global production of photovoltaic panels has consumed more electricity than the panels themselves generate.
Denis McDonough

The Man Who Could Put Climate Change on the Agenda

Coral Davenport | April 4, 2013
White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough has a record against global warming—and the president's ear.
iPhone

Could Your Smartphone Lower Your Electricity Bill?

Sophie Quinton | April 2, 2013
Smart-grid technology aims to prevent blackouts, cut costs, and maybe even change the way you use energy.
nuclear power plant

U.S. Renewable Energy Production Now Tops Nuclear Power

Todd Woody and Quartz | April 1, 2013
How's the U.S. energy landscape looking?
Lisa Murkowski and Ron Wyden

Five Easy Pieces of Energy Legislation

Coral Davenport | March 25, 2013
There are hopeful signs that years of gridlock could be replaced by action on some small-scale bills.
Scott Case

Priceline's Co-Founder Explains the Secret to a Successful Startup

Sophie Quinton | March 25, 2013
Scott Case launched a billion-dollar business. Now he's trying to help others do the same as head of Startup America Partnership.
Fred Upton

Upton, Waxman Launch Debate on Biofuels Mandate

Amy Harder | March 20, 2013
For the first time since President Obama won the White House in 2008, the top Republican and Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee are working collaboratively on a controversial piece of energy policy: the renewable-fuels standard.
Keystone Pipeline

Approving the Keystone Pipeline Won't Bring Obama Bipartisan Goodwill

Amy Harder | March 17, 2013
If President Obama wants to approve the Keystone XL pipeline as a way of extending an olive branch to congressional Republicans, they are likely to see it as one riddled with thorns.
Barack Obama

The Great Party Paradox

Ronald Brownstein and Stephanie Czekalinski | March 14, 2013
A year of surveys shows that Americans don't line up consistently behind Republicans or Democrats -- but like a little of each.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid tours a Nevada solar plant in 2010.

Harry Reid: The Closet Environmentalist

Amy Harder | March 6, 2013
He doesn’t tout it, but the Senate majority leader is one of the greenest members of Congress.
First Solar Manufacturing Plant

America's $1.6 Billion Trade Surplus With China (Yes, China)

Todd Woody and Quartz | March 6, 2013
For those who fret over the US trade deficits and that China’s dominance of the solar industry, here’s some good news: The US is in the black with a massive $1.6 billion green technology trade surplus with China.

Dems Focus on Freshmen in Frontline Program

Alex Roarty | March 5, 2013
More than half of the DCCC's 26-member incumbent-protection program, announced today, are freshmen, including a handful of members who returned to the House this year after previously serving in Congress. The effort, called the Frontline Program, will be led by Minnesota Rep. Tim Walz, a former par...
Chip Roy

Five Staff Positions to Watch: Chiefs of Staff for Freshman Senators

Amy Harder and Stacy Kaper | March 3, 2013
Meet the chiefs of staff for five of the Senate's newest members.
Obama on Sequester

What Unites Obama's Coalition — and What Could Divide It

Ronald Brownstein | February 21, 2013
One conclusion that jumps from the Pew Research Center/USA Today national survey released Thursday is that the coalition that reelected President Obama last fall remains in step behind him — and is largely unified behind the key elements of his increasingly aggressive second-term agenda. But the poll also suggests that failure to generate more-rapid economic recovery could nonetheless strain the powerful coalition Obama has assembled.
Votes

Key Votes Used to Calculate the Ratings

February 19, 2013
The 116 Senate votes and 116 House votes on which National Journal’s 2012 vote ratings are based.
anti-nuclear power rally

Why Japan Can't Quit Nuclear Power

Olga Belogolova | February 14, 2013
Since the Fukushima meltdown, the country has tried to reduce its reliance on nuclear reactors. But with nearly a third of its energy needs powered by the atom, change is difficult.
Hurricane Sandy Wreckage

Why Conservative Economists Will Like Liberal Senators' Plan to Tax Carbon

Ben Schreckinger | February 14, 2013
A pair of Democratic senators just announced legislation that would tax carbon emissions and use the proceeds to fund clean-energy projects and provide rebates to consumers. They know the bill is almost certain to fail in the GOP-majority House. When it does, it will set the stage for the executive...
Marco Rubio

Another Day, Another GOP Attempt to Rebrand the Party

Beth Reinhard | February 13, 2013
Another day, another Republican super PAC.
John Kerry applauds Obama at State of the Union

Obama Cites Storms, Drought to Build Case For Climate Action

Coral Davenport | February 13, 2013
Fifteen years ago, when President Clinton raised the specter of climate change in his State of the Union address, he spoke of a “gathering crisis” that would need to be stopped “at some point in the next century.” Now scientists say that crisis is starting to arrive – and President Obama has noticeably shifted his rhetoric, describing an urgent problem that’s here now, already harming American people.

Full Text: Marco Rubio's 2013 State of the Union Response

National Journal Staff | February 12, 2013
The Office of Speaker Boehner released a transcript of Marco Rubio's State of the Union speech (as prepared for delivery). Read the full text of the rebuttal below:
First Lady State of the Union

A Look at Who's Sitting With the First Lady Tonight

Matt Vasilogambros | February 12, 2013
Here's Michelle Obama’s guest list for the State of the Union, broken down by the issues the attendees represent.
NRG Energy's W.A. Parish Electric Generating Station

Obama Begins New Push on Climate Agenda

Coral Davenport | February 12, 2013
When President Obama addresses Congress in his State of the Union speech tonight, he is widely expected to lay out details of his plan to take on climate change.
Oil Rig

Breakthrough Nears on Tapping Offshore Energy Supply

Coral Davenport | February 5, 2013
In a season of political gridlock, a breakthrough could be near on legislation to promote energy production off the nation’s coastlines.
Saxby Chambliss

The Tea Party Takes Out Another GOP Senator

Michael Catalini | January 25, 2013
The Tea Party gets its latest scalp: Georgia Sen. Saxby Chambliss.
Obama and Boehner

Is Obama Trying to Destroy the GOP?

Jill Lawrence | January 21, 2013
The president pokes at the GOP and asks citizens to put the pressure on. Is he trying to destroy the opposition party?
Steven Chu

The Education of Steven Chu

Coral Davenport | January 17, 2013
The Nobel physicist was brought in to transform the energy economy, but faced political battles.
Jerry Brown

Why the Democrats Are Golden in California

Ronald Brownstein and Stephanie Czekalinski contributed | January 17, 2013
Demographic shifts and coastal liberalism have given huge power to Democrats. They control the state – but there's restlessness on the left.
Ken Salazar

Obama Could Look West to Fill Interior Job

Coral Davenport | January 16, 2013
President Obama could look west to fill the job of Interior secretary that will become vacant in March with the departure of Ken Salazar. Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire, who supports the president’s progressive clean-energy and climate-change agenda, is one possible candidate. 

Battle Over Wind Subsidy Leaves Industry Bruised

Amy Harder | January 3, 2013
The battle to get Congress to renew the wind-energy production tax credit before year’s end strained relationships among utilities, splintered support within the industry’s biggest trade group, and is setting up the industry—and its supporters in Congress—for a 2013 that's even more contentious than 2012.

Battle Over Wind Subsidy Leaves Industry Bruised

Amy Harder | January 3, 2013
The battle to get Congress to renew the wind-energy production tax credit before year’s end strained relationships among utilities, splintered support within the industry’s biggest trade group and is setting up the industry—and its supporters in Congress—for a 2013 even more contentious than 2012.
Schwarzenegger

Arnold Schwarzenegger: Terminator, Body-Builder, and Global Leader on Climate-Change

Coral Davenport | December 30, 2012
If the United States ever enacts a major climate-change law, it will owe a debt to Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Heitkamp

Heitkamp to be Key Energy Voice Among Moderate Democrats

Amy Harder | December 27, 2012
Heidi Heitkamp—the Democrat who surprised everyone and beat her Republican challenger Rick Berg to win the North Dakota Senate seat in this year’s election—will be an important leader in a growing group of moderate Democratic senators hailing from energy-rich states.

Should Congress Support Wind Tax Credit?

Sen. Lamar Alexander and R-Tenn. | December 17, 2012
[Editor's note: Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., is guest-moderating and providing the question this week. Alexander is a member of the committees on Appropriations and Environment and Public Works.] Should Congress extend wind power's federal tax credit for six years at a cost of about $50 billion...

What's at Stake for Energy, Environment in Fiscal Cliff?

Amy Harder | December 10, 2012
What are the risks and potential opportunities for energy and environment issues as Washington debates a way to avoid the fiscal cliff?
Edward Boghosian, Patrick Aziz,

Solar Perplexus

Olga Belogolova | October 4, 2012
Many in domestic solar power don’t want the United States to slap tariffs on the country, fearful it will raise prices and cripple U.S. demand. 

Administration Aides Defend Military Biofuels

Olga Belogolova | July 19, 2012
Navy Secretary Ray Mabus and top White House energy aide Heather Zichal on Thursday shot back at congressional critics of the military’s biofuel spending.
The crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power station

Eastern Market

Olga Belogolova | May 10, 2012
The country's decision to walk away from nuclear power has it scrambling for natural gas, giving the U.S. a chance to be a large-scale exporter. 
Joe Biden

Hot Ticket

Michelle Bloom | April 10, 2011
Foodies—brace yourselves. On Tuesday, the annual Embassy Chef Challenge brings together cuisines from around the world into one hunger-satisfying tasting sure to make your stomach happy.
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