Obama

A top official involved in ocean policy reform Tuesday called on President Obama and Congress to work together to set up an ocean investment fund — largely to be funded by revenues from oil and natural gas development on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) — that would provide financial support for maintaining and managing the oceans, coasts and Great Lakes.

The Senate Agriculture Committee last Monday approved President Obama’s choice for chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), voting out the nomination to the full Senate for confirmation.

The Senate Agriculture Committee Monday approved President Obama’s choice for chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), voting out the nomination to the full Senate for confirmation.

The Obama administration has proposed stripping away tax breaks from oil and natural producers for “a very simple reason and that is they are not needed,” Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said Monday.

As state energy officials were anticipating since the Obama administration stimulus package was made public, California will get nearly $412 million for weatherization and energy efficiency programs that will be funneled through the California Energy Commission (CEC). An announcement from Vice President Joe Biden and Energy Secretary Steven Chu confirmed this Thursday.

A Washington, DC-based watchdog group has called on the Obama administration to scrap the royalty-in-kind (RIK) program to increase revenue and cut costs for the federal government.

A Washington, DC-based watchdog group has called on the Obama administration to scrap the royalty-in-kind (RIK) program to increase revenue and cut costs for the federal government.

The California Energy Commission (CEC) expects to receive up to $300 million of funding from the Obama administration’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) and it has set up a portion of the CEC website to track what the state does with the monies, it said Tuesday. CEC staff’s initial review of ARRA’s nearly $800 billion has looked at a $37 billion portion earmarked for energy efficiency, renewables and other clean energy initiatives.

President Obama’s nominee to lead the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) last Wednesday urged Congress to give the agency “more tools” to deal with abuses in the futures markets.