With help from Annie Snider and Alex Guillén
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— President Donald Trump will meet with oil executives this afternoon to discuss next steps amid the dramatic drop in crude oil prices.
— Bipartisan lawmakers are continuing to push for measures targeting toxic PFAS chemicals in the next defense authorization bill.
— EPA on Thursday extended its comment period for its controversial science proposal, following calls from Democrats and environmental groups to do so.
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OIL’S WHITE HOUSE MEETING: Trump will meet with oil company executives at the White House this afternoon to discuss how to address the drop in crude oil prices driven by the coronavirus and the price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia.
The guest list: The meeting is expected to include Harold Hamm, a Trump donor and the founder of Continental Resources, who has accused the Saudis of “dumping” oil on the market and has called for import restrictions. It will also include chief executives from Exxon Mobil, Chevron and other large multinational companies that have argued that no direct relief to the oil industry is needed, as Pro’s Ben Lefebvre reports.
The tweet: The meeting comes a day after the president’s tweet that he expected a deal soon between Saudis and Russians to sharply cut oil production by 10 million to 15 million barrels — though that turned out to be more wishful thinking than a concrete commitment. “I hope they make that deal, but that’s what they told me,” Trump said Thursday during a briefing. He added that they did not discuss potential “concessions” from the U.S. in exchange for any production cuts. Still, Ben reports, the Trump administration is pressing OPEC to hold an emergency meeting as early as next week to try to end the standoff in the oil market.
Related: House Republican Reps. Kevin McCarthy, Mac Thornberry and Greg Walden on Thursday called for the State Department to “employ appropriate diplomatic pressure” on Russia and the Saudis.
What are his options? Ahead of today’s meeting, the Energy and Interior departments prepared to send Trump a menu of options the administration could take to provide relief to the domestic oil industry, according to industry officials briefed on the issue. The list of options for Trump are expected to contain measures that Republican lawmakers recommended, including suspending royalty payments for oil produced on federal lands and the extension of federal lease terms. It may also include suspending the Jones Act, which prevents ships that are foreign-owned, -flagged or -crewed from transporting products between U.S. ports.
More than 40 Republican lawmakers, including Minority Whip Steve Scalise, also sent a letter to Trump ahead of the meeting laying out five potential policy options to help U.S. oil and natural gas producers.
PFAS PUSH RAMPS UP: The House Armed Services Committee is plowing ahead with work on its annual defense authorization measure despite a slightly delayed schedule, and lawmakers seeking the inclusion of strong provisions relating to toxic “forever chemicals” are ramping up their push. In a letter to the chairman and ranking member of the House committee Thursday, 17 bipartisan lawmakers laid out their requests, including that the measure contain H.R. 535 (116), which passed the House in January, along with provisions to increase funding for cleanups, test the blood of all DoD service members and their families’ who may have been exposed to the chemicals, and create a registry of those who may have been exposed.
Recall, the PFAS provisions were among the most contentious in last year’s National Defense Authorization Act conference and were some of the last to be resolved. At the time, HASC Chairman Adam Smith said he would be wary about including policy provisions under other committees’ jurisdictions in future bills. But on a call with reporters Thursday, Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Mich.) said he and other members of the House’s PFAS Task force had a productive meeting with Smith on the topic before the chamber recessed. “I think the situation is changing and Adam, I think, is certainly willing to continue to work with us,” he said, noting that the EPA-related provisions have since passed through the Energy and Commerce Committee under regular order.
MNUCHIN RESPONDS: Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin responded to Senate Energy Chairman Lisa Murkowski‘s letter that asked him to ensure federal loans are available to U.S. oil and gas companies during implementation of coronavirus relief legislation, H.R. 748 (116). “I have very limited ability to do direct loans out of the Treasury,” Mnuchin said during Thursday’s coronavirus briefing, adding that he can do so for passenger airlines, cargo airlines, contractors and national security companies. “Our expectation is the energy companies like all of our other companies will be able to participate it broad-based facilities, whether it is the corporate facility or the main street facility. But not direct lending out of the Treasury.”
EPA EXTENDS ‘SECRET SCIENCE’ COMMENT PERIOD: EPA will give the public an extra month, until May 18, to comment on its re-proposed science transparency rule, Pro’s Alex Guillén reports. Democrats and environmental groups had complained the agency had limited comment in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. (Reg. 2080-AA14)
It’s worth noting that groups have called on EPA to extend comment periods for all of its rulemaking, with some requesting far lengthier comment periods. “While this extension is a step in the right direction, it is unreasonably optimistic to expect the COVID-19 public health crisis to subside by mid-May,” said House Science Chairwoman Eddie Bernice Johnson. “I reiterate my request for a comment period of at least 109 days, to match that of the original proposed rule.”
EPA ADMINISTRATOR VS. EPA ADMINISTRATOR: EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler took aim at his predecessor and the former enforcement chief under President Barack Obama in a series of partially deleted tweets Thursday that follow the agency’s move to allow a delay for some regulatory compliance. “While we are working hard to protect Americans & the workers who employ critical services, former Obama officials Gina McCarthy and Cynthia Giles are busy spreading misinformation to incite unnecessary anxiety,” Wheeler tweeted.
He went on to argue that under Obama, EPA issued or invoked numerous enforcement discretion actions. EPA enforcement chief Susan Bodine similarly sent letters to members of Congress on Thursday defending the agency’s action to ease enforcement and echoing some of the tweets line-for-line.
McCarthy, who is now at the NRDC, shot back in her own tweet Thursday that “it’s not politicization to demand that the public know when industry has stopped monitoring and reporting its pollution,” but “the right thing to do.” She also posted a screenshot of Wheeler’s tweet next to one from the agency’s official account remarking on her role at the agency during Women’s History Month. “What a difference a day makes,” she said.
DATAPOINT: The Trump administration’s Safer Affordable Fuel-Efficient Vehicles rule, unveiled this week, would require automakers to improve fuel efficiency for trucks and light cars by 1.5 percent per year — well below the 5 percent target sought by the Obama administration. POLITICO Pro DataPoint’s Patterson Clark breaks down in a new DataPoint graphic what the Environmental Defense Fund says would be an increase in deaths stemming from added petroleum pollution and increased carbon dioxide, outweighing the number of lives saved by cheaper cars.
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FORMER NPS STAFFERS CALL FOR CORONAVIRUS DATABASE: The Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks, a group composed of former National Park Service employees, called on NPS acting Director David Vela on Thursday to close all remaining national parks and to compile and publicly report every day the number of confirmed Covid-19 cases at each national park on the agency’s public health website. “Closing parks until the pandemic subsides is the only rational response by NPS at this time for limiting the spread of the virus due to human interactions at park sites,” the group wrote.
— Three top energy lawyers from Hunton Andrews Kurth who previously represented the Utility Air Regulatory Group before it was dissolved last year have moved to McGuireWoods. Makram Jaber, Allison Wood and Aaron Flynn all have deep histories working on major regulations and lawsuits. For example, while at Hunton, Wood, who in 2016 argued in court against EPA’s Clean Power Plan, most recently represented the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity in helping defend EPA’s replacement Affordable Clean Energy rule. Other recent clients among the trio include the American Petroleum Institute, National Mining Association, National Association of Manufacturers and U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
— “Trump-tied law firm has lobbied for Saudi Arabia — the country crushing U.S. frackers,” via the Huffington Post.
— “4 major hurricanes are predicted as part of an above-normal 2020 Atlantic hurricane season,” via CNN.
— “U.S. allowing longer shifts at nuclear plants in pandemic,” via Associated Press.
— “Trump pressured to halt regulatory agenda except for virus rules,” via Bloomberg Environment.
— “Private equity firm seeks to cut price for failed shale producer,” via Reuters.
THAT’S ALL FOR ME!
