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MANAFORT INDICTMENT TAKES FOCUS OFF WHITEFISH CONTRACT: Paul Manafort, President Trump’s former campaign chairman, was indicted by a federal grand jury, the special counsel’s office announced Monday morning, relegating the controversy over the now-killed Whitefish Energy contract with Puerto Rico’s state-run utility to the back-backburner.
The grand jury indicted Manafort and his former business associate Rick Gates on 12 counts, including conspiracy against the U.S. and conspiracy to launder money.
The indictment also contains counts of making false and misleading Foreign Agents Registration Act statements, serving as an unregistered foreign principal, and seven counts of failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts.
Trump on Monday tried to downplay the Manafort allegations in the indictment, trying to shift the blame to Democrats and Hillary Clinton.
On Friday, the White House was also deflecting criticism. But then, it was trying to distance itself from a multi-million contract with Whitefish to rebuild 100 miles of Puerto Rico’s transmission grid. The $300 million no-bid contract was given to Whitefish, based in the same Montana town where Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke lives. The company had two employees when Hurricane Maria devastated the island territory.
The Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority signed the $300 million contract with the company, without any White House involvement, it said. The White House was forced to distance itself from the contract award after members of both parties on Capitol Hill called for investigations into the company.
Zinke also said that he had no involvement in the contract award and invited his department’s inspector general to investigate.
PREPA killed the contract Sunday.
DEMOCRATIC WHIP SAYS ELECTRICITY IS THE PRIORITY AS WHITEFISH UNRAVELS: House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said electricity restoration in Puerto Rico has to be a priority after wrapping up a weekend tour of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Florida and other hurricane-ravaged areas.
Electricity is the focus for the Democratic leadership, Hoyer said Sunday night. But the readout from his visit did not mention the controversy over the Whitefish contract to repair the U.S. territory’s damaged transmission lines.
CONTROVERSIAL WHITEFISH CONTRACT KILLED: The Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority canceled the $300 million contract with Whitefish on Sunday following the governor’s request earlier in the day.
Earlier Sunday, Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rossello called for the immediate cancellation of Whitefish contract.
Widely criticized: The contract has been criticized by both parties in Congress, with lawmakers calling for hearings and investigations. FEMA on Friday said it has “significant concerns” about how the contract was secured.
What’s in a Whitefish: Whitefish Energy had two employees when Maria hit Puerto Rico, but it hired hundreds of contractors to restore 100 miles power lines on the island.
The Whitehouse contract contained an unusual clause that said it could not be audited or reviewed by government agencies.
Whitefish ‘very disappointed’: Whitefish on Sunday said it was “very disappointed” and that the canceled contract “will only delay what the people of Puerto Rico want and deserve — to have the power restored quickly.”
The company defended its work, saying it had brought 350 workers, 2,500 tons of equipment and five helicopters to the island.
What Puerto Rico will do now: To make up for the lost work, Rosello said he is requesting assistance from Florida and New York under “mutual aid” agreements that utilities traditionally activate during emergencies. Those agreements allow out-of-state utility workers to quickly arrive on the scene after a disaster.
The island had previously not requested such assistance and turned to Whitefish instead. Some 80 percent of the island remains without power.
Congress wants probes to continue: Congress likely will continue to probe the contract. The House Natural Resources Committee is planning a hearing.
Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington, the top Democrat on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said Sunday investigations “must continue.”
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OIL EXPORTS SURGE ALMOST TWO YEARS AFTER LIFTING OF BAN: Demand for U.S. crude oil is rising for the second year since Congress lifted the nation’s 40-year ban on oil exports, but so is the nation’s need for imports.
“We said let’s let markets operate, and they’ve done so spectacularly,” he said.
The surge: Oil exports increased by 300,000 barrels per day to a total average of 900,000 barrels per day in the first half of 2017 from the same period last year, according to federal data released this month.
Other data show the U.S. hit a record of about two million barrels per day in late September, according to the Energy Information Administration, the data analysis arm of the Energy Department.
Since then, the amount has dropped to about 1.8-1.9 million barrels for the week ending Oct. 20. The drop is blamed on Hurricane Harvey and offshore production outages catching up with stockpiled oil supplies. But that’s still much higher than the 1.3 million barrels per day for the week ending Oct. 13.
Imports increase: But amid all the elation over the growth in oil exports, energy security proponents point out a reality: The U.S. is still importing a lot of oil.
In fact, the Energy Information Administration data showed oil imports have risen over the last two years after a steady drop over the last decade.
“I think people should really focus in on the net export number,” said Jonathan Chanis, senior vice president of policy at Securing America’s Future Energy, a group formed from industry and former military leaders focused on reducing U.S. dependence on oil as a matter of national security. The “net export-import number is much more important,” although “it’s a number that doesn’t look nearly as good.”
TRUMP WILL SHRINK SIZE OF BEARS EARS, GRAND STAIRCASE-ESCALANTE: Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch said Friday that Trump told him he would approve Zinke’s recommendation that he reduce the size of the contentious Bears Ears National Monument in Utah.
Trump also committed to reducing the size of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah, a 1.9 million-acre site created by President Bill Clinton.
The call: “I’m approving the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase recommendation for you, Orrin,” Trump told Hatch, according to the senator’s account.
Trump to visit Utah: Trump and Zinke met Friday and discussed the monuments. Trump is planning to visit Utah in early December, when he likely will make a formal announcement.
Bring on the lawsuits: Environmental and conservation groups as well as Native Americans have threatened to sue the Trump administration if it scales back the monuments, with the Natural Resources Defense Council saying Friday it will do so.
‘Illegal’: Rep. Raul Grijalva of Arizona, the top Democrat of the House Natural Resources Committee, said Friday that Trump would be breaking the law if he shrinks monuments. The Antiquities Act does not explicitly say that presidents can reduce the size of established monuments, and the concept has not been tested in court.
“The president’s move in Utah is illegal, unpopular, and unwise,” Grijalva said.
INTERIOR LOOKS TO WAVE GOODBYE TO DRILLING REFORMS: The Interior Department said Friday that it would repeal a number of onshore drilling reforms enacted after President George W. Bush’s administration to improve drilling leases, which the top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee is condemning.
Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva of Arizona, said he “condemned” Interior’s repeal decision, which was included in a report called: “Final Report: Review of the Department of the Interior Actions that Potentially Burden Domestic Energy.”
The report looked at ways to lessen the burden on onshore energy development managed through Interior’s Bureau of Land Management.
GROUPS PUSH AGAINST SOLAR TARIFFS: A group of 10 conservative groups are lobbying the White House to make sure Trump rejects a proposal to place tariffs on solar panel imports.
“If trade restrictions are imposed, the cost of solar products in the United States could double, endangering tens of thousands of good-paying domestic jobs within the solar industry,” the conservative groups said in a letter sent to the president Thursday night.
Who is fighting? The R Street Institute, American Legislative Exchange Council, Competitive Enterprise Institute, FreedomWorks, National Taxpayers Union, and other groups were included in the action.
Remember Bush’s steel tariffs? They also pointed out that there is precedent for not taking action, saying tariffs to help the steel industry that were put in place under former Republican President George W. Bush were harmful.
“The last time the United States imposed import restrictions under its safeguard power was in 2002, when then-President George W. Bush tried to implement stiffer tariffs on imported steel,” the letter said. “The tariffs sparked a threat of retaliation by the European Union, caused up to 200,000 domestic job losses and nearly $4 billion in lost wages, and eventually were withdrawn after a successful challenge at the [World Trade Organization].”
HOUSE SCIENCE COMMITTEE BEEFS UP STAFF: House Science, Space, and Technology Committee Chairman Lamar Smith, R-Texas, is adding to his staff.
Smith on Friday named two deputy chiefs of staff, Chris Wydler and Ashley Smith.
Wydler was named deputy chief of staff for policy and legislation and senior adviser to the chairman, Smith announced Friday.
Smith has a “full range of science and technology policy issues within the committee’s jurisdiction and continue to manage the committee’s legislative agenda,” the committee said.
Ashley Smith will serve as deputy chief of staff for strategy and operations and senior counsel to the chairman.
She “will take on a broader portfolio of long-term strategy in addition to overseeing committee operations,” he said.
“Ashley and Chris have been indispensable to the success of the Science Committee. Chris has helped carry a record number of bills across the finish line,” said Chairman Smith.
ENERGY DEPARTMENT BREAKS SOLAR DOT RECORD: The National Renewable Energy Laboratory set a new record for solar energy efficiency on Friday.
Researchers “established a new world efficiency record for quantum dot solar cells, at 13.4 percent.”
The dots are nearly microscopic, but possess fascinating optical properties that could one day lead to solar power panels being embedded in everything.
RUNDOWN
New York Times Russia uses its oil giant, Rosneft, as a foreign policy tool
Reuters Carbon dioxide levels grew at record pace in 2016, U.N. says
Wall Street Journal Long-time ally of offshore drillers oversees safety agency
Bloomberg Iraq oil stops flowing from Kurd, Kirkuk fields to Turkish port
Associated Press Iran skips UN conference on nuclear energy in Abu Dhabi
Reuters U.S. oil exports boom, putting infrastructure to the test
BBC How artificial islands could help adapt to climate change
Calendar
MONDAY, OCT. 30
9 a.m., Arizona. The 2017 American Council on an Energy Efficient Economy holds its National Conference on Energy Efficiency as a Resource in Litchfield Park, Ariz. Oct. 30-Nov. 1.
aceee.org/sites/default/files/pdf/conferences/ssi/2017/Draft%20Schedule%208-29.pdf
TUESDAY, OCT. 31
Halloween
9 a.m., 1030 15th St. NW. The Atlantic Council holds a discussion on “The Road to Bonn: Transatlantic Climate Solutions.”
atlanticcouncil.org/events/upcoming-events/registration/a080H00002XJP9gQAH
10 a.m., 366 Dirksen. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing on “Efficiency in Building Management.”
2:30 p.m., 253 Russell. Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee’s Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard Subcommittee hearing on “Exploring Native American Subsistence Rights and International Treaties.”
2:30 p.m., 430 Dirksen. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee committee hearing on “Implementation of the 21st Century Cures Act: Achieving the Promise of Health Information Technology.”
10 a.m., 342 Dirksen. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing on “2017 Hurricane Season: Oversight of the Federal Response.”
THURSDAY, NOV. 2
7:45 a.m., 300 First St. SE. The Ripon Society holds a discussion on “The Future of Puerto Rico,” focusing on the work of the Financial Oversight and Management Board.
riponsociety.org/upcomingevents.htm
10 a.m., 2123 Rayburn. House Energy and Commerce Committee
Energy Subcommittee hearing on “The 2017 Hurricane Season: A Review of Emergency Response and Energy Infrastructure Recovery Efforts.”
10 a.m., 366 Dirksen Senate Office Building. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee holds hearing on GOP plan to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
