Safe Climate Campaign

E&E Daily

By Jean Chemnick
...Dan Becker of the Safe Climate Campaign said he had been assured by people within the administration that "it's in there" but didn't know what details the president would include tonight.

Becker said he would be surprised if Obama provides too many details.

"He said the things we were looking for in the inaugural speech, and he may lay a little more flesh on the bones, but I don't know why he would invite the Republicans to start attacking before he needs to," he said.

Becker said he expected Obama to refer to items on his agenda like the New Source Performance Standards for new and existing power plants and to avoid topics like Keystone XL that wouldn't win him points with his supporters.

"We know what the menu is. I think he'll point to the menu," he said.

The State of the Union is supposed to be a call to Congress to act, and Becker said Obama might make a perfunctory gesture in Congress' direction.

"My guess is that I think he'll also say Congress needs to act," he said. "But I don't think he'll be holding his breath any more than I'm holding mine."...