50°

The Associated Press

JUNEAU – Alaska’s Democratic senator says he may sign on in support of a Republican energy bill because he’s not satisfied with the proposal Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid put forth.

Sen. Mark Begich told The Associated Press on Wednesday that he’s reviewing the Republican plan and would have no problem backing it if he finds it more acceptable than the Democrats’ current proposal.

Begich believes there’s a lot of common ground to be found on the energy issue between the parties, but he said the air must be cleared of the attempted power grabs and “political posturing” to advance a comprehensive plan.

He said there’s a “pent-up desire” to do something on energy, which is why he believes there’s a push now. He said he worries that some people may feel that doing something, even if it just a little bit, is OK when it’s not.

“My view is, we’ve just begun,” he said.

Begich said he has several problems with the Reid proposal, including the elimination of a $75 million cap on economic liability from an oil spill. Begich said he believes the current limits must be raised but that doing away with a cap would be a job killer and limit opportunities for offshore drilling.

He also wants to see more in the way of revenue sharing.

A spokesman for U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, said she was supporting the GOP bill.

All this comes with an August recess looming and midterm elections this fall. Begich isn’t up for re-election until 2014.