California officials on Tuesday issued the nation’s first blueprint for a broad-based cap-and-trade plan, an innovative and controversial effort to use market forces to control global warming.  The California Air Resources Board released a draft rule on Tuesday establishing a cap-and-trade program that sets a declining ceiling on emissions of greenhouse gases and allows companies to buy and sell permits to meet it.  The proposed system would begin in 2012 with 600 major sources of global warming pollutants, including power plants, refineries and concrete factories.

A new USA TODAY/Gallup Poll “finds Americans inclined to oppose congressional passage of healthcare legislation this year.  The survey finds 42% against a bill, 35% in support of it.  49% overall said they would urge their member of Congress to vote against a bill; 44% would urge a vote for it.  Democrats surveyed were overwhelmingly in favor of a bill: 76% to 17%.  Republicans were opposed 86% to 12%.  Independents were against it by 53% to 37%.

The Interior Department has announced 38 oil and gas lease sales the department will conduct next year, mostly in the West.  The American Petroleum Institute and the Independent Petroleum Association of Mountain States have recently targeted the administration’s record.  IPAMS released a report this month saying the Obama administration issued 1,934 fewer onshore oil and gas leases and 1.1 million fewer acres in the Intermountain West compared with former President Bill Clinton’s first year in office.  Next year’s planned sales include one in August for a northern portion of the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska.  The department will make an announcement soon about upcoming offshore lease sales. 

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has forecast that it will take years before unemployment falls to a “sustainable” level of 5 percent because the current jobless numbers are so high, according to the Director of the CBO.

Democrats are considering new legislation to stimulate job growth.  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California) last week said she would like to move a jobs package, which could consist of more than one bill, by December 18.

The U.S. will propose a near-term target for reducing greenhouse gas emissions before the United Nations climate change meeting in Copenhagen next month, according to a senior administration official.  Senator John Kerry (D-Massachusetts) said Mr. Obama could credibly tell delegates to the climate conference that the United States intended to reduce its emissions by 17% to 20%, based on the legislation that has been approved by the House and the Senate environment committee.  The president is expected to decide shortly whether and for how long he might attend the December climate meeting, which runs from December 7 to December 18.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is withdrawing a previously published NPRM that proposed to establish one set of duty period limitations, flight time limitations, and rest requirements for flight crewmembers engaged in air transportation. The FAA intends to issue a new NPRM to address flight, duty, and rest.

The proposed rule published on December 20, 1995 (60 FR 65951), is withdrawn as of November 23, 2009 . To view the full notice, please click here.

According to the New York Times, the number of senators unwilling to commit to voting for comprehensive climate and energy legislation continues to grow.  According to an analysis completed by E&E Publishing, “24 senators now belong in the ‘fence sitter’ category that leaves them up for grabs headed into the winter push for 60 votes that sponsors will need to overcome an expected Republican filibuster,” but “at least 67 senators are in play on the issue, enough not only to pass the climate bill but also to ratify an international treaty should sponsors actually run the boards and not lose a single member.”  The E&E analysis also “lists eight Republicans as “fence sitters” on the climate bill, with the two from Maine – Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe – holding firm as “probably yes” votes given their past efforts on the issue.”

The House Judiciary Committee today voted 20-9 to approve legislation aimed at repealing antitrust exemptions for health insurers.  Senate Democratic leaders said they would push for a similar provision to be included in healthcare overhaul legislation.

President Obama is scheduled to announce tomorrow “a package of initiatives designed to increase lending, including a request that Congress increase caps for existing Small Business Administration loans".  The administration is under pressure from liberals to shift the massive bailout fund’s spending away from big financial institutions and toward reducing foreclosures and creating jobs.

The U.S. Senate is to vote today, Tuesday, September 8 on a tourism bill (S. 1023) that would create a nonprofit corporation to promote the U.S. abroad as a tourist destination.  It would authorize up to $10 million in seed money for the corporation in fiscal 2010.

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee will continue amending its 600-page healthcare overhaul this week. The committee, which has been meeting since last Wednesday to make changes to the bill, is expected to reconvene this afternoon, Monday June 22.