WILL THEY/WON'T THEY?: The White House seemed to briefly float a tax on carbon dioxide emissions as a trial balloon on Tuesday, but a spokeswoman later shot it down.

The denial, which also said that the administration is not considering a value-added tax (VAT), came hours after the Washington Post reported that some officials were thinking about both proposals as ways to raise revenue as part of a comprehensive tax reform package.

"The president's team is hearing input from experts on all sides of the tax reform debate as we formulate what will ultimately be the president's plan to enact the first significant tax reform since 1986," White House spokeswoman Lindsay Walters said in a statement.

"As of now, neither a carbon tax nor a VAT are under consideration."

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The Post, citing administration officials, said Trump aides were considering both tax proposals in place of a border-adjustable tax that is running into significant Republican and business opposition.

It's the second time in as many months that the White House has had to publicly shoot down rumors that it was considering a carbon tax.

The tax would likely be even more controversial than the border-adjustable tax.

Trump and his aides repeatedly shut the door on the idea throughout last year's presidential campaign. The House also passed a nonbinding resolution, with the support of all Republicans, denouncing the idea last year.

The idea is popular among environmentalists, Democrats and some conservative economists as a simple way to clamp down on carbon dioxide emissions.

But most GOP leaders are skeptical that human-induced emissions are a significant cause of climate change.

And beyond that, a tax would necessarily increase the costs of fossil fuels, another strong GOP ally.

Read more here and here.

MARYLAND BANS FRACKING: Maryland officially became the second state to ban hydraulic fracturing on Tuesday.

Gov. Larry Hogan (R) on Tuesday signed into law a bill preventing fracking, something the drilling industry had eyed for the state's share of the Marcellus Shale formation.

Hogan's signature comes after a half-decade push from activists to ban fracking in Maryland.

The Democratically-controlled Legislature last week passed the fracking ban, which the drilling industry said was a "politically-motivated" measure that would prevent economic growth in the state.

Hogan threw his support behind a fracking ban in March, despite objections from industry and many Republicans.

"The possible environmental risks of fracking simply outweigh any potential benefits," Hogan said then.

Read more here.

DEMS WANT OIL DISCLOSURE RULE: Senate Democrats want regulators to rewrite a financial disclosure rule for drillers and miners despite an earlier resolution blocking such a rule.

The Democrats, led by Sen. Ben Cardin Benjamin (Ben) Louis CardinPPP application window closes after coronavirus talks deadlock Congress eyes tighter restrictions on next round of small business help Senate passes extension of application deadline for PPP small-business loans MORE (Md.), sent a letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Tuesday asking it to reissue a rule requiring oil and gas drillers and mineral miners to publish information about payments from foreign governments associated with their extraction work.

Cardin co-authored the provision in the Dodd-Frank law that required those disclosures. The SEC under Obama had written a rule mandating those disclosures, but congressional Republicans and Trump used the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to strip it off the books.

"This anti-corruption transparency rule is necessary, particularly in times of conflict and market volatility," the senators wrote in their letter.

Trump signed a resolution in February ending the SEC's financial disclosure rule. The CRA states that future rules cannot be "substantially similar" to those the law undoes, but the senators insist in their letter that regulators still have a legal responsibility to seek out the disclosures.

Read more here.

DEMS REINTRODUCE BILL TO BLOCK ANWR DRILLING: Democratic lawmakers, with the help of a pair of Republicans, reintroduced legislation Tuesday to indefinitely block drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

The bill, which a similar group of lawmakers have introduced in previous sessions of Congress, would designate the refuge's 1.5 million-acre coastal plain as wilderness, preventing drilling and most other development.

"The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is a national treasure and it's more important than ever that we protect this uniquely American area," Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) said in a statement. "Only by designating the threatened Coastal Plain as wilderness can we fully protect the intrinsic value that this land holds -- for those who live in the region, and for future generations."

Huffman was joined on the bill by Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) and Frank LoBiondo (R-N.J.).

The Senate version of the legislation, also introduced Tuesday, was led by Sens. Ed Markey Edward (Ed) John MarkeyMassachusetts town clerk resigns after delays to primary vote count Bogeymen of the far left deserve a place in any Biden administration Senate Democrats urge Amazon to recall, stop sales of explosive products MORE (D-Mass.) and Michael Bennet Michael Farrand BennetOVERNIGHT ENERGY: House Democrats tee up vote on climate-focused energy bill next week | EPA reappoints controversial leader to air quality advisory committee | Coronavirus creates delay in Pentagon research for alternative to 'forever chemicals' Senate Democrats demand White House fire controversial head of public lands agency Next crisis, keep people working and give them raises MORE (D-Colo.) and was joined by 38 senators.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski Lisa Ann MurkowskiGOP ramps up attacks on Democrats over talk of nixing filibuster OVERNIGHT ENERGY: House Democrats tee up vote on climate-focused energy bill next week | EPA reappoints controversial leader to air quality advisory committee | Coronavirus creates delay in Pentagon research for alternative to 'forever chemicals' House Democrats tee up vote on climate-focused energy bill next week MORE (R-Alaska), who chairs the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, sought to nip the idea in the bud quickly.

"This bill was dead before it got introduced," she said in a brief statement.

Read more here.

TRUMP PLUGS HYDROPOWER: Trump on Tuesday offered up his endorsement for expanding hydropower and making it easier to permit hydroelectric dams.

"They don't even talk about dams anymore," Trump said at a meeting with CEOs.

"You know hydropower is a great, great form of power. We don't even talk about it because to get the environmental permits are virtually impossible. It's one of the best things you can do, hydro. But we don't talk about it anymore."

Hydropower generated 6 percent of the nation's electricity in 2015, according to federal figures, making it the largest source of renewable electricity. A House committee on Tuesday held a hearing on ways to produce even more hydropower, raising the industry's hopes for action supporting the sector.

"As an industry, we are pleased President Trump not only recognizes the challenges that hydropower faces, but the opportunity that exists to create jobs and local economic opportunities," LeRoy Coleman, a spokesman for the National Hydropower Association said Tuesday.

"He is absolutely correct -- despite the numerous benefits that hydropower provides to the grid, it is undervalued."

ON TAP WEDNESDAY I: A House Natural Resources Committee will hold a hearing on an economic support bill for coal country. Read more about the bill here.

ON TAP WEDNESDAY II: The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will hold a hearing on conflict minerals.

Rest of Tuesday's agenda ...

A House Natural Resources subcommittee will meet to consider four public lands bills.

AROUND THE WEB:

A barge hauling gasoline ran aground in the Hudson River near Catskill, N.Y., Tuesday, although no fuel has leaked, the Albany Times Union reports.

Worker error caused a flooding incident at a reactor in the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Massachusetts last week, the Cape Cod Times reports.

Quartz explores the use of coal in Pakistan and China.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

Check out Tuesday's stories ...

-Trump administration protects endangered mussels

-White House denies it's considering carbon tax, value-added tax

-Maryland governor signs fracking ban into law

-Trump administration removes endangered species protections for parrots

-Lawmakers want to block drilling in Alaska wildlife refuge

-White House studying carbon tax, value-added tax: report

-Dems ask regulators to rewrite disclosure rule for drillers, miners

-The animal advocate: a profile of Dan Ashe

Please send tips and comments to Timothy Cama, tcama@thehill.com; and Devin Henry, dhenry@thehill.com. Follow us on Twitter: @Timothy_Cama, @dhenry, @thehill