Author

Joe Colaneri

  • Public Policy

    A New “Energy Future”?

    By Joe Colaneri… Every four years, political pundits, historians, and other observers of our political process proclaim that this is the most important election in our history and that the future of democracy is at stake. This year’s election was influenced by a 100-year pandemic, so the institutional challenges and democratic vulnerabilities were likely impacted and exacerbated more than in so-called normal election cycles. “THE MOST CONSEQUENTIAL ELECTION EVER?” The elegant aspect of America’s election process is that we vote nationally from the 30,000-ft level for president and we vote at the local grassroots level for Congress. The vote for president is essentially a vote for national approach and policy direction and the vote for Congress is for the details and how policy impacts at...

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  • Public Policy

    Mobilizing Propane

    By Joe Colaneri… The coronavirus presents America and the world with the challenge of a generation. It will test our health, our economy, our communities, our national character, our collective will. And propane, one of America’s oldest and greatest industries, deeply embedded in the character of America, is poised to help lead the nation on the journey we will be taking together. Propane’s leadership will reflect America’s strength, indomitable spirit, sense of community—its resilience. THE CHALLENGE Long before the coronavirus began to dominate our lives, our very existence, the propane industry had begun facing its own existential threats with California being ground zero. The emergence of policies and regulations favoring electric vehicles and compromising propane’s historic markets had begun. Those trends are accelerating exponentially on...

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  • Public Policy

    2020 Policy and Political Challenges For Propane Industry

    By Joe Colaneri… THEMES OF ADVOCACY AND LEADERSHIP The 2020 presidential and congressional elections promise to be among the most contentious and consequential in American history. Against the backdrop of certain impeachment proceedings against the president, a presidential primary season in full swing—and congressional elections that could swing both houses of Congress toward the Democrats or the Republicans—or split control—and the prospect of a new president provide policy and political challenge for the propane industry. The propane industry itself is on the cusp of a new era in leadership and direction. For the first time in a generation, both the National Propane Gas Association (NPGA) and the Propane Education & Research Council (PERC) are under new management. Thus, the industry finds itself having to navigate...

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  • Public Policy

    Point-Counterpoint: New Reality of Advocacy and Governance in 2019

    By Joe Colaneri… The 116th Congress is now in full swing, and while it has been difficult to read all of the political and policy tea leaves since the 2018 midterm elections, and after the government’s longest shutdown in history, some trends are now emerging. We can observe and speculate on the new reality on Capitol Hill even if we cannot, with certainty, predict policy outcomes. The outlines and character of a potentially new emerging Democratic majority will soon begin to become clear. All of this takes place in a highly charged political atmosphere shadowed by the upcoming 2020 presidential election, the fallout from the government shutdown, the newly divided government, the almost daily Democratic presidential candidate announcements, and the president’s own political vulnerabilities. Retrospective...

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  • Public Policy

    Be Prepared For Congressional Midterm Elections

    By Joe Colaneri … Every year March brings the inevitable rites of spring—baseball spring training, NCAA college basketball, the Academy Awards, and in some years the Southeastern Convention. And every other year another consequential rite takes center stage — America’s biennial national soul-searching, otherwise known as the congressional midterm elections. Every U.S. House seat, one-third of the Senate, numerous governorships, and state and local races coast to coast will command the attention of pundits, politicians, and the public. One part system reboot and two parts catharsis, the election does help shape the future of a president’s first or second term, the next national elections two years away, and the shape of public policy. It’s a chance for voters to either affirm their support of the last two...

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  • Public Policy

    Mr. Trump Goes to Washington — A Brave New Political World

    By Joe Colaneri… National elections have a way of reflecting, clarifying, and predicting. And in spite of all the noise and campaign rhetoric, the 115th Congress will likely be no different in how it sorts out, interprets, and implements the messages from the elections. This is the third in a series of articles I have written for BPN in the past year. The first heralded the new House speakership of Paul Ryan and discussed how his political philosophy could impact the industry; the second discussed the upheaval taking place in the country as the primary season moved forward, and posited several legislative scenarios based on possible results. The results are in and speculation is rampant as to what it all means. Every industry in the...

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  • Public Policy

    A Political San Andreas

    By Joe Colaneri… The 2016 presidential primaries of both political parties have exposed deep fissures in our society and in our politics. It’s a reality that requires a measured and carefully drawn national conversation about the country’s future. These divisions will inevitably shape any policy that emerges from the next president and Congress — from tax to energy, from environment to financial issues. Take some of the back and forth among the candidates as normal political hyperbole and with a grain or two of salt. Political rhetoric is to be expected in any campaign, but this campaign has brought more voters into the process in unprecedented numbers, and when the dust settles, there will be a political bill due. The rhetoric and even the hyperbole does expose...

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