President Barack Obama's budget proposal will triple government loan guarantees for new nuclear reactors, an administration official said today, a move sure to win over some Republican lawmakers who want more nuclear power to be part of climate change legislation, according to Reuters. The $54 billion in loan guarantees, which follow Obama's pledge in his State of the Union address to work to expand nuclear power production, will be announced as part of Obama's proposed 2011 government budget that will be sent to Congress on Monday, the official said. Obama in his State of the Union speech Wednesday called on Congress to pass a comprehensive energy and climate change bill with incentives to make clean energy profitable. "And that means building a new generation of safe, clean nuclear power plants in this country," he said. "Restarting the nuclear industry is a key part of our response to climate change," U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu said on Friday in a phone call with reporters. "As the world moves to tackle climate change and diversify our national energy portfolio, nuclear energy will play a vital role," added Carol Browner, who advises the president on energy and climate change issues. Obama, however, is not waiting for Congress to act on climate change. On Friday, the president issued an executive order to reduce U.S. government greenhouse gas emissions 28 percent by 2020. The government target was based on the combination of individual goals set by 35 federal agencies against an estimated 2008 baseline, the White House said. Three U.S. senators -- Democrat John Kerry, Republican Lindsey Graham and Independent Joe Lieberman -- are working on a bipartisan bill to cut U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by implementing a nationwide cap-and-trade system that would require utilities, oil refineries and factories to have permits to spew polluting emissions. To win support for the climate change bill, the legislation would also expand nuclear power and offshore drilling. "Nuclear energy has long been the drumbeat for Republican lawmakers on how to reduce greenhouse gases," said Josh Margolis, an executive at CantorCO2e, a carbon broker and adviser. "This should help win votes from those lawmakers who doubted the sincerity of those who advocated for climate change goals."
