Burr could be top Republican on Senate energy committee

Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) could become the top Republican on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee if Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) loses her GOP primary.

Based on seniority, Burr is next in line to be ranking member — or chairman if Republicans take the Senate — of the panel that oversees federal policy on oil drilling, mining, renewable energy and other matters.
 
{mosads}Burr is considered more conservative on energy than Murkowski — a divide made clear when the committee approved a sweeping energy bill last year that included a national renewable electricity mandate, several energy efficiency provisions and wider drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico.

Murkowski voted for the bill along with three other committee Republicans, while Burr opposed it.
 
“That suggests that Sen. Burr is going to be less likely to cooperate with Democrats than his predecessor,” said Daniel Weiss of the Center for American Progress Action Fund, a liberal advocacy group.
 
Burr, of course, would have to be reelected. His fight against Democratic challenger Elaine Marshall is listed as “lean Republican” in The Hill’s race ratings. Also, Burr is already the top Republican on the Veterans Affairs Committee, a slot he would have to relinquish to step up on the energy panel.
 
“If, unfortunately, Sen. Murkowski were to lose, Sen. Burr would have some really viable options,” said Ron Bonjean, a Republican strategist and former House and Senate GOP leadership aide. Bonjean noted that energy “is a very prestigious committee and very high-profile at a time when our country is dealing with energy and environmental crises.”
 
A spokesman for Burr declined to comment on his plans. “It is just premature to be talking about this. [Murkowski] is the ranking member of the energy committee,” said Burr spokesman David Ward.
 
The League of Conservation voters gives Murkowski, who is in her second term, an overall score of 18 percent; her ranking in the first session of the current Congress was 36 percent, compared to 27 percent in the 110th Congress. But in recent months, she has become a top target of environmental groups for spearheading efforts — unsuccessful thus far — to block EPA climate change rules.
 
Burr, who was elected in 2004, has a 7 percent lifetime score from the advocacy group.
 
With thousands of absentee ballots still to count, Murkowski trails challenger Joe Miller, an attorney backed by the Tea Party and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. If Murkowski goes on to lose, she would be one of several upcoming GOP departures from the energy committee — a panel that has already seen big changes in its Republican lineup in recent years.
 
Sen. Bob Bennett (R-Utah) in May was defeated at his state’s GOP convention, while committee members Jim Bunning (R-Ky.) and Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) are not running for reelection.
 
Former Sen. Pete Domenici (R-N.M.) — long a dominant GOP voice on energy policy — served as chairman and later ranking member of the panel before leaving the Senate in 2009 after 36 years. Other key GOP committee members included Sen. Craig Thomas (R-Wyo.), who passed away in 2007, and retired Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho).
 
Meanwhile, one oil industry lobbyist predicts that if Murkowski overtakes upstart Miller in the end, her close working relationship with Committee Chairman Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) will change as she watches her right flank.  
 
“If she survives, I would look to see a little less willingness to be so cozy with Bingaman,” this lobbyist said.

Energy politics are highly regional. The lobbyist also predicted that Burr would focus more on nuclear power and electric utilities than oil-and-gas, the dominant industry in Alaska.

This post was updated at 3:16 p.m.