Scroll Down For Coverage of YESTERDAY’S Gulf States Energy Summit!

ADN.  House Majority Leader Alan Austerman says there will be pressure to act on oil taxes this session.

ADN by Austin Baird.   Lance Pruitt (NGP Photo) is the author of HB358 which would support national, pro-ANWR advertising.

ADN by Becky Bohrer.  An attorney for the Alaska Legislature said Monday that it’s entirely possible that bills passed in the House and Senate last year would be considered substantially similar to a ballot initiative that would re-establish a coastal management program in the state, perhaps eliminating the need for the ballot measure. 

 

Alaska Business Monthly: Mary Ann Pruitt has joinedMary Ann Pruitt  the Associated General Contractors of Alaska (AGC) and will become Assistant Executive Director to replace the retiring Monty Montgomery.

Alaska Gas Pipeline Federal Inspector’s 3-12 news briefs: 

 

Consumer Energy Alliance Coverage and Mentions of YESTERDAY’S 2012 Gulf States Energy Summit:
 
 
WCSH (NBC):
 
 
WLOX (ABC):
 
 
Republican presidential contenders and their super PAC supporters campaigned aggressively on land, through the mail and over the airwaves Monday on the eve of primaries in Alabama and Mississippi with the potential to solidify or shake Mitt Romney’s standing as front-runner. In the Deep South, one of the most conservative regions of the country, Romney and his Republican rivals polished their credentials with attacks on President Barack Obama’s handling of the economy and the nation’s use of energy.
 
The Obama administration will release a report Monday that shows the United States cut foreign oil imports by 1 million barrels a day in 2011, a 10 percent reduction that the White House said illustrates progress toward achieving greater energy independence. The 19-page status report lays out steps that six federal agencies have taken to meet President Obama’s call for a “secure, affordable energy future” during a speech at Georgetown University in March 2011.
 
National Journal: Santorum downplays expectations ahead of Southern primaries (Story picked up by CBS)
Even as he barnstorms Mississippi and Alabama with days packed full of meet-and-greets and rallies ahead of the two states’ primaries on Tuesday, Rick Santorum seems to be trying to lower expectations in the state by saying that his rivals have spent more time and money here. "It’s very tough," Santorum told reporters on Monday after a speech to the Gulf Coast Energy Summit. "It’s basically a one-week campaign. The other campaigns have been here running ads longer than we have and have been spending time here before we did."
 
 Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum each ridiculed President Obama’s record on energy and the environment on Monday, while Mitt Romney stuck to his economic agenda as the trio of Republican presidential candidates wrapped up their Mississippi and Alabama campaigns. Gingrich, who has the most at stake in the twin Southern primaries on Tuesday, avoided taking shots at his GOP rivals.
 
A week after 10 states cast Republican presidential ballots from coast to coast on Super Tuesday, the eyes of the political world turn to the Alabama and Mississippi primaries on Tuesday – where the three major candidates have all spent significant time and resources and polls show tight races. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney could deliver a major blow to his two major rivals by claiming one or both of the contests.
 
On the eve of a pair of crucial Southern primaries, GOP presidential hopeful Rick Santorum turned his attention to the environment. The former Pennsylvania senator focused on energy development in Mississippi, prodding voters to trust his judgment. "The dangers of carbon dioxide? Tell that to a plant, how dangerous carbon dioxide is," he said.
 
The GOP southern swing continues. Looking to energize their campaigns, Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum addressed the Gulf Coast Energy Summit in Biloxi Monday morning. "We want to make sure that we have a candidate that can go up against President Obama who can make the case about energy in our future, who can draw a sharp contrast," Santorum told the crowd.
 
WLOX: Group demonstrates against drilling outside energy summit
The Gulf Coast Energy Summit attracted a group of protesters Monday morning. Members of the "12 Miles South Coalition" and others held a demonstration across the street from the energy summit. The protest group shared a strong message about "no drilling" near the barrier islands.
 
Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum headline the Gulf Coast Energy Summit in Biloxi, Miss., today. The event, hosted by the Consumer Energy Alliance, gives the candidates a chance to reiterate their support for offshore drilling and take aim at the Obama administration’s fossil fuel policies. Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant and Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley are also slated to attend. Gingrich is set to speak at 11:30 a.m. Eastern and Santorum at 12:10 p.m.
 
 Mitt Romney has tried for weeks to snuff out Newt Gingrich’s presidential ambitions, but his stubborn survival has become a welcome relief for Mr. Romney. If Mr. Romney has a chance of winning the Alabama primary on Tuesday — his advisers believed the odds were strong enough to arrange a last-minute campaign visit on the eve of the election — it is largely because Mr. Gingrich’s candidacy remains alive.
 
On the eve of a crucial primary in the Deep South, Rick Santorum intensified his effort to convince conservative voters that he alone has the untarnished conservative record Republicans need to take on President Barack Obama in this fall’s elections.He took that campaign theme to the heart of the Gulf Coast at a meeting of pro-drilling groups here. Mr. Santorum portrayed Newt Gingrich as a faux-conservative with a soft spot for global warming science and protecting endangered animal species.
 
Republican presidential contenders and their super PAC supporters campaigned aggressively on land, through the mail and over the airwaves Monday on the eve of primaries in Alabama and Mississippi with the potential to solidify or shake Mitt Romney’s standing as front-runner. In the Deep South, one of the most conservative regions of the country, Romney and his Republican rivals polished their credentials with attacks on President Barack Obama’s handling of the economy and the nation’s use of energy.  
 
Energy is high on the national radar with rising gas prices and many leaders pushing to make America independent of foreign oil. MPB’s Rhonda Miller reports an energy summit in Biloxi Monday brought together leaders from across the region. When it comes to energy production, David Holt, president of the Consumer Energy Alliance, says the organization takes an “all of the above” approach.
 
 It’s called the Gulf Coast Energy Summit, and Speaker Newt Gingrich and Senator Rick Santorum used it as a campaign stop. Louisiana’s primary is now 12 days away, and both Santorum and Gingrich say they expect their message to play well here. “I went to Tulane, my younger daughter was born in New Orleans. We have friends all over the state,” Gingrich said.
 
A crowd of several hundred gathered at a Coast Energy Summit in Biloxi today to hear GOP candidates Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum, plus other state and regional leaders speak about domestic energy production policies. “Energy is the economy,” said Gov. Phil Bryant. “… I would suspect the president hasn’t had to pay for a gallon of gasoline in a long time.” Gingrich told the crowd that energy leaders in the current administration are, “ideologically committed to a fantasy land.”
 
Rick Santorum predicted Monday that he would get the Republican presidential nomination if the race remains undecided by the time the party holds its nominating convention this summer. Though former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has a commanding lead in the crucial race for delegates, Santorum said the race is about to enter a period where he will face fewer disadvantages. To date, Romney has outspent Santorum and had stronger campaign organizations working for him.
 
Mitt Romney has climbed into a virtual tie with Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum in Alabama and Mississippi and is pushing for victories there Tuesday that could lay to rest nagging concerns about his ability to win in the Deep South. A Romney win in either primary would be something of an upset since, as detractors have pointed out, he has not carried a Bible Belt state in either of his runs for the Republican nomination.
 
Republican presidential candidate and former Pennsylvania U.S. Senator Rick Santorum on Monday expressed concerns with the Endangered Species Act, warning supporters that it could place “critters above people.” “What we have seen under this administration is a truly radical environmental agenda,” Mr. Santorum said in response to a question at the Gulf Coast Energy Summit in Biloxi, Mississipi.
 
With gas prices nationwide jumping nearly a nickel over the weekend, GOP candidates Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum focused on domestic drilling at an energy summit in Biloxi on Monday before Tuesday’s primary vote in Mississippi. The two, along with Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant, took turns bashing President Barack Obama and his energy policy and saying they want to drill to lower prices and bring energy independence.
President Obama is under pressure in public opinion polls, and the high price of gasoline appears to be a central reason. Even though the job market has been improving, energy prices are a big concern that stares Americans in the face whenever they’re at a gas pump. That could be bad news for Mr. Obama’s reelection hopes, new polls suggest. A Washington Post/ABC News poll, released Monday, tells one big part of the story: Disapproval of the president’s handling of the economy stands at 59 percent of Americans, which the Post says is a record low on that issue for Obama.
 
CEA Topics of Interest:
 
With the price of gas becoming an increasingly critical issue on the campaign trail, President Obama admitted today that “as long as gas prices are going up, people are going to feel like I’m not doing enough.” “I understand that, because people get hurt when they’re going to the gas station and seeing those prices rise every day,” Obama told ABC’s Orlando, Fla., affiliate WFTV.
 
Politicians and talking heads are doing their best to make us confused about gasoline prices. Here’s a little clarity. Secret 1: Oil companies don’t control gas prices. “Supply” is the willingness to sell at a given gasoline price–which is determined by the ability to make a profit at a given price. “Demand” is the willingness of consumers to buy at a given gasoline price.
 
More Americans trust President Obama than congressional Republicans to make the right decisions to bring down the price of gasoline, according to a new poll, although neither side commands a majority. What’s more, as prices continue to rise and the specter of $5-per-gallon gas for the summer driving season looms over the political landscape, the latest United Technologies/National Journal Congressional Connection Poll shows the public slightly more supportive of the energy priorities of the Democrats and the president than those of the GOP.