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Brad Shannon maintains this blog. He is political editor at The Olympian and can be reached at 360-753-1688 or bshannon@theolympian.com.

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Baird now likely vote for clean energy bill; won biomass provision

• Published June 25, 2009

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U.S. Rep. Brian Baird says he and a pair of Oregon representatives have won a concession in the emerging federal clean-energy bill that preserves jobs in timber country.

The jobs in question are tied to the use of downed or insect-damaged trees for biomass fuel production. The U.S. House vote is Friday, and Baird also credited Rep. Kurt Schrader (with help from Rep. Greg Walden) for getting the deal.

Environmentalists recently pressured Baird, a Vancouver Democrat who represents Olympia and southwest Washington, over not pledging his vote for the American Clean Energy and Security Act (also known as H.J. 2454).

But Baird apparently has changed his mind and he put out an announcement today (June 25) that he won concessions that �allow federal forest products to be used to meet renewable energy and fuel standards.� He did not address his other reservation about the bill: That he favors a carbon cap over a cap-and-trade arrangement.

Here is an excerpt of Baird's announcement:

"Our efforts will create or save thousands of jobs, preserve forest health, and increase our energy independence. Allowing federal forest products to be used to meet the renewable energy standard will breathe new life into the timber industry that has been hurting for so many years. In addition, by allowing pulp and paper companies to use black liquor and other similar products to meet their renewable energy and fuels standard, we are preserving current operations, creating new opportunities, and consequently more jobs. "We have millions of acres of dead and diseased trees across America, many of them in Southwest Washington. Federal stimulus dollars are going to thin forests to protect against forest fires, yet under the original terms of this bill, those trees would be piled up and burned instead of being used for alternative energy. That's not only bad environmental policy, but bad economic policy as well. However, thanks to the changes Kurt and I were able to make, that has now changed. "This is the reason I held a field briefing of the House Energy and Environment Subcommittee on the issue earlier this year. This is why I fought so hard for a responsible environmental policy, that will preserve our forests, help our timber and paper industries, and create thousands of jobs, all while moving us closer to energy independence. Thanks to this legislation, it is about to become a reality.�

"We�re glad he's going to vote for the bill," said Beth Doglio, Olympia-based campaign director for Climate Solutions, an environmental group expert in climate-change issues. "I think it's going to be a very close vote tomorrow, so every vote's going to count."

Doglio said she does not yet know what the changed bill language will do exactly. The overall bill puts caps on industrial releases of greenhouse gases and moves the country toward a cap-and-trade system for trading pollution credits. And, as Doglio pointed out earlier in the week, it allowed some wood to be used from forests.

She predicted all Western Washington Democrats will support H.J. 2454, and she expects Republican Rep. Dave Reichert of Auburn also to come around. But Reichert's staff said he was "on the fence" this afternoon on the issue, Doglio said.