Schumer breaks down climate change plan Presented by Chevron

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— Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer wants to keep the focus on climate change, arguing in an interview with POLITICO that the issue is one of Democrats' best advantages over Republicans in 2020.

— The secretive utility industry group once represented by EPA's top air official has disbanded amid investigations into whether its members received special treatment from the Trump administration.

— House Natural Resources Democrats say they are considering subpoenas for information from the Interior Department.

WELCOME TO MONDAY! I'm your host, Kelsey Tamborrino. Bracewell's Frank Maisano knew there are 13 former governors currently in the Senate — Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Angus King (I-Maine), Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Mitt Romney (R-Utah), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Jim Risch (R-Idaho) and Tom Carper (D-Del.). For today: Who is the current oldest living governor? Send your tips, energy gossip and comments to [email protected]. Follow us on Twitter @kelseytam, @Morning_Energy and @POLITICOPro.

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SCHUMER'S CLIMATE STRATEGY: Schumer insists his support for aggressively tackling climate change is genuine, and he will show it by pressing for climate components in any tax bills or spending plans this year, Pro's Anthony Adragna reports.

It's all part of a strategy the Senate minority leader thinks could help Democrats win back the majority and take the White House in 2020. "This should be one of the most important issues in any election given the urgency, and we help highlight that," Schumer said in an interview with POLITICO.

The New York Democrat added that he would insist on the inclusion of battery storage, electric vehicle and additional wind and solar tax incentives as part of any tax extenders package. Democratic senators will also push for environmentally friendly provisions in the appropriations cycle, like funding for cleaner buses and efficient building incentives, he said.

That commitment comes as Senate Democrats hope to develop an ambitious climate change proposal that will be ready for rollout following the 2020 election. They will look toward the new ad-hoc climate committee formed by Schumer to develop some of those ideas. Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), chairman of the panel, said it would begin by holding internal meetings with labor groups, business CEOs and youth advocates ahead of public hearings in July.

"We want to start with labor because we need to demonstrate to our friends in labor that we understand that climate action has to be good for working people and for organized labor, in particular," Schatz said.

UARG CALLS IT QUITS: The Utility Air Regulatory Group, the under-wraps utility industry coalition formerly represented by a top EPA official and currently under scrutiny from the House Energy and Commerce Committee, announced it was dissolving Friday, POLITICO's Zack Colman reports.

E&C Chairman Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), as well as Reps. Paul Tonko (D-N.Y.) and Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) welcomed the group's dissolution, but said it wouldn't affect their investigation into UARG. "Important questions remain about whether EPA officials William Wehrum and David Harlow continue to advance their former coal industry clients' agenda at EPA, and we intend to see those questions through," the three lawmakers said in a statement.

The group said in a statement that its membership "decided to disband the organization following a wind down period." The statement said a committee would be formed to handle "the completion/fulfillment of UARG's existing obligations and support of members as they continue to cooperate with the Congressional inquiry."

— READ: The original POLITICO report on internal documents detailing UARG's priorities and the millions its members were billed by Wehrum's former law firm.

SANDERS, AOC TO TOUT GREEN NEW DEAL: Democratic presidential contender and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders will join Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) tonight at Howard University for the final stop of the "Road to a Green New Deal" tour organized by the Sunrise Movement. Watch the livestream at 7 p.m.

— The event comes as progressive voices like Sunrise and Sanders slammed former Vice President Joe Biden after Reuters reported his unreleased climate platform will present a "middle ground" echoing the work of former President Barack Obama, Anthony reports.

SUBPOENA POTENTIAL: Interior Secretary David Bernhardt is slated to appear Wednesday before the House Natural Resources Committee — and you can expect they'll be fireworks. Ahead of Bernhardt's appearance, Chairman Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) said Friday committee Democrats were considering issuing subpoenas to obtain information from Interior that officials there have declined to provide, Anthony and Pro's Ben Lefebvre report.

Democrats have long complained the Trump administration has refused to provide information needed for them to conduct oversight. Grijalva has said Interior officials have been unresponsive to his requests for information on the agency's restructuring and handling of public information requests.

— Interior shot back in a letter to Democrats on both the House Oversight and Natural Resources committees, citing their threats to withhold salaries of DOI officials, and arguing they've "proactively" responded to Democrats' requests. Interior's director of congressional and legislative affairs vowed the department won't engage in "political showmanship and threatening tactics."

CARPER CALLS ON GAO TO STUDY CLIMATE CHANGE: Senate Environment and Public Works ranking member Carper will send five letters today requesting the Government Accountability Office study the threat climate change poses to nuclear waste, the treatment and disposal of hazardous materials, flood risk planning and infrastructure, U.S. energy infrastructure and chemical facilities. Carper teased the possibility of congressional hearings in a statement today that said the "nonpartisan studies would help to inform our oversight and legislative work on the Environment and Public Works Committee as we continue working on climate change solutions."

Senators joined Carper in his requests: Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) co-signed the letters on hazardous materials and chemical facilities; Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) on flood risk infrastructure; and Manchin on energy infrastructure.

CURBELO APPEAL: The witness list for Wednesday's House Ways and Means hearing on the economic and health consequences of climate change has emerged as a point of contention among Democrats. Former Republican Rep. Carlos Curbelo was uninvited from testifying after Democrats expressed anger over the panel offering a platform to a longtime foe who has yet to rule out a run for re-election, POLITICO's Heather Caygle and Anthony report.

Curbelo, former co-chair of the Climate Solutions Caucus, responded on Twitter to POLITICO's story: "We all have a choice: we can work collaboratively to build consensus for #climate solutions or we can selfishly exploit the issue for personal gain. This article features many who are making the wrong choice."

ORBÁN, TRUMP TO MEET: Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán will meet with President Donald Trump today at the White House, where "ways to deepen cooperation" on energy are on the agenda. Ahead of the visit, bipartisan Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Risch and Shaheen cautioned the president on "Hungary's downward democratic trajectory and the implications for U.S. interests in Central Europe."

"While the U.S. has sought to counter Kremlin aggression across Europe, we remain profoundly concerned about the close relationship between this NATO partner and Moscow," the letter said. "Hungary has failed to diversify its energy resources away from Moscow."

WHERE'S PERRY? Energy Secretary Rick Perry heads to Bogotá, Colombia today for the Concordia Americas Summit, where he will speak. While there, the secretary will also participate in bilateral meetings on the sidelines, according to DOE.

EPA OPENS COMMENTS FOR ESA CHANGES: EPA requested comment Friday on draft changes to how it evaluates pesticides' effect on endangered species under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act. The agency will hold a public hearing on June 10 on the proposal, which EPA chemicals chief Alexandra Dapolito Dunn said "allows the agency to consider real-world data" that will better reflect where pesticides are used and which species could be affected.

ODD MAN OUT: The U.S. is on the outskirts of a proposal agreed on Friday by the parties of the Basel Convention that would require countries importing plastic waste to give prior and informed consent before the shipment can occur, POLITICO Europe's Paola Tamma reports. On the final day of a summit in Geneva of the Basel Convention, 186 countries plus the EU backed the Norwegian proposal.

The U.S., which is the second-largest waste exporter after the EU, is not party to the convention and opposed changing the rules. It argues the proposal "would undermine global recycling of plastic material without addressing the unsound disposal practices that cause marine plastic litter and microplastics," a State Department official said via email last week.

— "How the West Virginia coal industry changed federal endangered species policy," The Washington Post.

— "Wyoming coal giant Cloud Peak files for bankruptcy," Casper Star-Tribune.

— "Newest Beto O'Rourke campaign hire lobbied for Keystone XL, Seaworld and private pensions," The Intercept.

— "Interior secretary mum on whether Utah will be new home to BLM headquarters," Deseret News.

— "U.S. warns American shipping that Iran may target commercial vessels," CNN.

— "California may go dark this summer, and most aren't ready," Bloomberg.

THAT'S ALL FOR ME!

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