The race to the left on energy policy heats up; Waving goodbye to the Jones Act?

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Democrats Dangerously Moving Even More Left on Energy Policy
Daniel Turner, Real Clear Energy, April 24, 2019

The 2020 Democratic candidates are racing to the left, and if you’re an energy worker or an American who cares about strong economic growth and energy independence, their rhetoric and policies should send a shiver down your spine. This week, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders released proposals they say are needed to fight climate change. In reality, they’d decimate energy jobs, the economy at large, and could even hurt environmental conservation efforts. Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren struck first, declaring in a Medium post on Monday that if elected President, she would implement a “total moratorium” on new fossil fuel leases on public lands, including offshore drilling, on her first day in office.

Trump Considering Waiving Jones Act Mandate for Natural Gas, Sources Say
Jennifer A. Dlouhy, Jenny Leonard, Jennifer Jacobs, Bloomberg, April 23, 2019

President Donald Trump is seriously considering waiving the requirement that only U.S.-flagged vessels can move natural gas from American ports to Puerto Rico or the Northeast, according to people familiar with the deliberations. The issue was debated during an Oval Office meeting on Monday, following requests from Puerto Rico and pressure from oil industry leaders to ease the nearly 100-year-old Jones Act requirements, according to three people. Although top administration officials are divided on the issue, Trump is now leaning in favor of some kind of waiver, said two of the people, who asked for anonymity to discuss the private deliberations. The move — which would be fought by U.S shipbuilding interests and their allies on Capitol Hill — has been promoted as essential to lower the cost of energy in Puerto Rico and ease the flow of American natural gas to the U.S. Northeast, where there aren’t enough pipelines to deliver the product from Pennsylvania.