WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Frustrated by the gridlock that has stalled Congress leading into the 2012 presidential elections in November, the top Republican on the Senate Energy Committee is drafting what she hopes is a fresh look at the big-picture energy policy.

Details are still under wraps, but Senator Lisa Murkowski plans to unveil this summer a long-term vision with affordable energy at its core, a plan she has been working on with her staff for the past eight months.

“I want to get out front early next year and move on some energy issues. I think we’re well overdue for some real energy proposals that can give us some good clear guidance,” Murkowski told Reuters.

Murkowski, 55, relishes the prospect of setting the agenda on energy policy. She is in line to be chairman of the energy committee if Democrats lose control of the U.S. Senate, where they currently hold 53 of 100 seats.

She said her plan could eventually lead to several legislative initiatives, and will cover everything from increasing oil and gas production to improving energy efficiency to updating the transmission and storage grid.

It also aims to reduce the uncertainty in short-term incentives aimed at increasing wind and solar power, she said.

Ultimately, Murkowski believes that energy policy requires a holistic approach and she hopes her plan will act as a guiding document for action next year.

WASHINGTON, May 24 (Reuters) – President Barack Obama said on Thursday he will nominate Allison Macfarlane, an expert in nuclear waste, to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and plans to name her as the panel’s chairman once she is confirmed by the Senate.

Macfarlane would replace Gregory Jaczko, who announced his resignation on Monday after a contentious term as the top nuclear safety official marked by accusations from his four fellow commissioners that his bad temper had created a hostile work environment.

Macfarlane, who teaches at George Mason University, was a member of a panel of experts named to determine how the United States should dispose of toxic nuclear waste after Obama canceled plans to store it deep in a Nevada mountain. That panel in January recommended ways to overhaul the process for finding a central nuclear waste storage site.

“Dr. Macfarlane understands the role that nuclear power must play in our nation’s energy future while ensuring that we are always taking steps to produce this important energy source safely and securely,” said Clark Stevens, a White House spokesman.

Macfarlane will be nominated to serve for the remainder of Jaczko’s term, which ends in June 2013. Her appointment to the commission requires Senate confirmation. Under laws governing the agency, the president then could name her as chairman.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat who has long fought to keep the nuclear waste dump out of his home state of Nevada, said he would work quickly to get Senate approval of Macfarlane’s nomination.

Reid said on Thursday he would pair Macfarlane’s nomination with that of Kristine Svinicki, a Republican commissioner whose term expires in June – a strategy that could help both nominations move more quickly through the often gridlocked Senate.

WASHINGTON, May 23 (Reuters) – Lawmakers on a U.S. Senate-House committee are making progress on finalizing a transportation spending bill, Senator Barbara Boxer said on Wednesday, although a provision that would fast-track the Keystone XL crude pipeline is still unresolved.

The committee’s starting point is a two-year, $106 billion bill to fund road, bridge and rail projects passed by the Senate in March.

Republicans have insisted that the legislation include approval of the Canada-to-Texas Keystone oil pipeline, which President Barack Obama put on hold earlier this year after environmentalists raised concerns.

In a weekly update on the closed-door negotiations on how to advance the bill, Boxer, the Democratic chairman of the Senate-House panel, said she was more optimistic than ever that a deal could be reached by a June deadline after discussing the bill with Republican House Speaker John Boehner on Tuesday evening.

“He (Boehner) is working to make sure we get this done, and that is the best news I have heard in a long time,” Boxer said, without addressing specifics of the thorny points of the talks.

“Our conversation was really good. Nobody brought up any quote-unquote ‘sticking points.’”

In a statement, Boehner said Keystone remains a priority.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Senate unanimously approved on Monday a package of new economic sanctions on Iran’s oil sector just days ahead of a meeting in Baghdad between major world powers and Tehran.

The sanctions add to a raft of punitive measures by the United States and the European Union aimed at shrinking Iran’s oil revenues to force it to halt a nuclear program the West suspects is being used to build an atomic bomb.

Iran has said its nuclear program is for civilian purposes.

The new package would extend sanctions to cover dealings with the National Iranian Oil Co and National Iranian Tanker Co, if they are deemed to be an agent or affiliate of the Revolutionary Guards. It aims to close a potential loophole that could have allowed Tehran to continue selling some of its oil using its own fleet.

The House of Representatives passed its version of the bill in December and now the Senate and House must work out their differences in the legislation before it is signed into law by President Barack Obama.

“This bill is another tool that will demonstrate to Iran that the United States is not backing down,” Robert Menendez, the Democratic senator who helped craft the legislation, said on the Senate floor.

“Today, the U.S. Senate put Iranian leaders on notice that they must halt all uranium enrichment activities or face another round of economic sanctions from the United States,” said Republican Senator Mark Kirk, a co-author of the bill, in a statement. The Senate bill was brought up on Thursday but was blocked by Republicans who wanted some parts toughened up.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Senate gave unanimous approval on Monday to a package of new economic sanctions on Iran’s oil sector just days ahead of a meeting in Baghdad between major world powers and Tehran.

The West suspects Iran is working to build a nuclear bomb and the sanctions are meant to strip Tehran of revenue by shutting down financial deals with Iran’s powerful state oil and tanker enterprises. Iran has said its nuclear program is for civilian purposes.

The House of Representatives passed its version of the bill in December and now the Senate and House must work out their differences in the legislation.

But by passing the bill ahead of the Baghdad meeting, the Senate has shown Iran that “buying time … is just not going to work,” Robert Menendez, the Democratic senator who helped craft the legislation, said on the Senate floor.

The new sanctions build on penalties signed into law by President Barack Obama in December against foreign institutions trading with Iran’s central bank. Those sanctions already have cut deeply into Iran’s oil trade.

The new package would extend sanctions to cover dealings with the National Iranian Oil Co and National Iranian Tanker Co, aiming to close a potential loophole that could have allowed Tehran, the world’s third-largest petroleum exporter, to continue selling some of its oil.

The Senate bill was brought up on Thursday but was blocked by Republicans who wanted some parts toughened up. Senator John McCain said the revised bill shows “we need a comprehensive policy” to include economic sanctions, diplomacy, military planning capabilities and options.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Gregory Jaczko, chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, said on Monday he would resign, following a year of intense criticism over his abrasive management tactics.

Jaczko, 41, was a polarizing figure who oversaw the nuclear safety agency as it crafted expensive new rules in the wake of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that devastated Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex.

But Jaczko made more headlines from a series of reports and congressional hearings that painted him as a bully who had reduced some senior female employees to tears — accusations he consistently dismissed and denied.

Jaczko, appointed to the chairman role by President Barack Obama, did not say what led to the timing of his announcement.

“After an incredibly productive three years as chairman, I have decided this is the appropriate time to continue my efforts to ensure public safety in a different forum,” Jaczko, a Democrat, said in a statement, noting he will serve until the Senate confirms his successor.

The four other commissioners at the NRC — two Democrats and two Republicans — took the unprecedented step last year of complaining to the White House about Jaczko.

Afterwards, Bill Daley, then White House chief of staff, expressed his support for Jaczko and urged the commissioners to get along, perhaps with help from a mediator.

WASHINGTON, May 21 (Reuters) – Gregory Jaczko, chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, said o n Monday he would resign, after a year of intense criticism of his abrasive management tactics.

“After an incredibly productive three years as chairman, I have decided this is the appropriate time to continue my efforts to ensure public safety in a different forum,” Jaczko said in a statement.

The agency is implementing an extensive overhaul of safety rules for U.S. nuclear plants in the wake of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that devastated Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex.

Jaczko, who has spent almost eight years on the commission, had sought to move quickly on the new rules, clashing with the four other commissioners who lead the agency and who favored a more cautious approach.

But in a series of reports and congressional hearings, an unflattering picture of Jaczko’s management style emerged. He was described by colleagues and staff as a bully who had reduced some senior female employees to tears.

Jaczko has steadfastly defended himself and denied the accusations.

A report on Jaczko from the agency’s inspector general, an internal watchdog, is expected to be released imminently.

WASHINGTON, May 17 (Reuters) – U.S. Senate Republicans blocked new economic sanctions on Iran’s oil sector on Thursday, saying they needed more time to study revisions, a surprise move that drew anger from Senate Democrats who had expected unanimous approval ahead of Iran talks on May 23.

“I feel I’ve been jerked around,” Democratic Leader Harry Reid said on the Senate floor after the Republican objection.

But Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said his staff did not receive a draft of the bill until late on Wednesday night, and needed more time to make sure it was as strong as possible.

“There is no reason in the world why we can’t resolve whatever differences we have and move forward,” McConnell said. “We certainly don’t want to take a step backward, and there are members on my side of the aisle who are concerned that the way the measure is currently crafted could actually be a step in the wrong direction,” McConnell said.

The United States says Iran’s nuclear program is a cover for developing the capability to build atomic bombs, while Iran says it is for civilian purposes.

The sanctions are meant to shut down any financial deals with Iran’s powerful state oil and tanker enterprises, stripping Tehran of crucial oil revenues. The new bill would build on penalties signed into law by President Barack Obama in December that threatened sanctions against any foreign institutions trading with Iran’s central bank.

Democrats wanted to pass the proposed penalties ahead of talks between world powers and Iran next week, and had support from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a powerful pro-Israel lobby group.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Senate is set to vote on a tough new round of economic sanctions on Iran’s oil sector on Thursday, including measures meant to shut down any financial deals with the country’s powerful state oil and tanker enterprises.

The proposed penalties would increase pressure on Tehran to abandon its nuclear program ahead of key talks next week, building on penalties signed into law by President Barack Obama in December that threatened sanctions against any foreign institutions that trades with Iran’s central bank.

The United States says Iran’s nuclear program is a cover for developing the capability to build atomic bombs, while Iran says it is for civilian purposes.

Major importers of Iranian crude oil have already cut their purchases in order to win waivers from those sanctions.

The new package would extend sanctions to cover dealings with the National Iranian Oil Co and National Iranian Tanker Co, aiming to close a potential loophole that could have allowed Tehran, the world’s third-largest petroleum exporter, to continue selling some of its oil.

While the new limits would be a symbolic step in effectively putting Iran’s entire energy sector off-limits, it is unclear what practical effect this would have on oil flows since most trade has to be processed through the central bank.

Passing the bill in the Senate before May 23 negotiations in Baghdad with Iran and world powers will send a strong message that the United States will impose further sanctions unless Iran backs down from its nuclear plan, said Democratic Senator Robert Menendez.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid will ask the U.S. Senate to approve a new package of oil and economic sanctions on Thursday aimed at pressuring Iran to abandon its nuclear program, a Democratic leadership aide told Reuters.

The politically popular sanctions are focused on foreign banks that handle transactions for Iran’s national oil and tanker companies, and include measures to close loopholes in existing sanctions.

Iran has insisted its nuclear program is for civilian purposes.

The sanctions build on penalties signed into law by President Barack Obama in December that have made it difficult for Tehran, the world’s third-largest petroleum exporter, to sell its oil, in a bid to cut the flow of revenues suspected of supporting the nuclear program.

The move comes ahead of negotiations next week in Baghdad between Iran and world powers concerned about Tehran’s nuclear program.

The bill was revised from a version passed in February by the Senate Banking Committee, the aide said, noting the revised bill has received strong support from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a powerful pro-Israel lobby group.

Reid brought the bill before the Senate in March for a “unanimous consent” voice vote, but that failed because some Republican senators had sought amendments, such as sanctions on companies that insure trade with Iran.