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FUELS By Keith Reid Washington after the Midterms An interview with PAMM President Dan Gilligan T he 2014 midterms came as a shocking rebuke to the Democrats, and it has been posed that it was specifi- cally more of a rebuke to the Obama Administration's policies. We are also entering in to a new year with a new legislative make up. FON Interviewed PMAA President Dan Gilligan about the recent election and what's on the docket for 2015, including his retirement after 28 years on the job. FON: That was some midterm election, wasn't it? Gilligan: It's gotten tiresome—going to hearings and nothing getting done and everybody in a malaise. It's finally going to, maybe, be fun again. It's nice to actually have things in the queue to work on and fight over. FON: How do you see the shift to Republican control in the Senate playing out with our industry concerns? Gilligan: Certainly Congress is going to be a much friendlier entity to fossil fuels in the next two years. It's no secret that the Obama administration is very hostile toward fossil fuels, and is doing everything within their executive powers to diminish the consumption of fossil fuels. It would be hard to argue with that if we had a decent alternative fuel that could simply replace fossil fuels, but we don't. We just can't get there with solar panels and windmills. And they know that. Their answer is not the lower the cost of solar and windmills, but to increase the cost of fossil fuels. They believe that if you make fossil fuels more expensive, then gradually people are going to invest in these alternatives. And they have been doing a pretty good job, though lately I'm sure they're not happy with $77 per barrel crude oil. FON: While the legislative branch might be more favorable to fossil fuels, with a basic Republican majority the president still holds the veto pen. Do you think enough Democrats will cross over to override a veto on some of these issues? Gilligan: Without a doubt. I think there are 12 to 14 Democrats up for reelection next cycle that are in purple states, and they can probably be picked off one by one. The big question is when you are fighting a veto you have to get the 67 votes, which means you have to pick up 12 Democrats. If it gets to 55 Republicans—and even if Mary Landrieu wins—you can pretty much bet that on energy issue she is going to support them. I do think, off hand, there are one or two issues where you can get close to a 67 vote to override a veto. One issue that comes to mind is the 40-hour full- time work week. The stats I've seen indicate a dramatic increase in workers going from full-time to part-time, and that's 100% because of Obamacare and the 30 hour definition and a push [by employers] to 29 hours. So you might actually round up enough votes to change that definition of full time back to 40 hours. Obama may threaten a veto, but I can see where you could maybe get 67 votes on that. The opponents would say they'll just give the workers 39 hours instead of 29, but that's still better for most workers. Many of those workers who had one full-time job now have to work two part-time jobs to make ends meet. 16 DECEMBER 2014 | FUEL OIL NEWS | www.fueloilnews.com Dan Gilligan One thing we worry about is that if there was some reform in the works, there are some people who say that anyone that blends ethanol or biodiesel should be counted as an obligated party.