On Wednesday, May 23, the House Science and Technology Committee will convene the first mark-up in the House on energy-related legislation. The committee will consider several bills, one of which would create a new Energy Department agency focused specifically on the development of technologies that curb greenhouse gas emissions and improve economy-wide energy efficiency (H.R. 364). The House Energy and Commerce, Natural Resources and Ways and Means Committees are expected to follow the Science Committee's lead, with a comprehensive "energy independence" bill moving to the House floor sometime this summer.
The Science Committee will also consider legislation to advance hydrogen technology (H.R. 632) and fund a significant educational effort to improve college and postgraduate education related to "green" building design and construction (H.R. 1716).
Also on May 23, House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Nick Rahall (D-WV) will hold a hearing on his legislation, entitled the Energy Policy Reform and Revitalization Act of 2007 (H.R. 2337), intended to address energy and climate change policy within that committee's jurisdiction. The bill includes provisions related to advancement of carbon sequestration technology, repeals portions of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct) related to oil and gas development on public lands, and addresses the effects of global warming on wildlife, among others. The bill also repeals the authority of the Departments of Energy, Agriculture, Defense, Interior and Commerce to consult and designate national interest corridors for future pipeline and transmission projects over federal lands and substitutes it with a study of the need for such designations.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee has scheduled a legislative hearing for May 24 to discuss proposals to expedite DOE efforts to implement energy efficiency appliance standards, encourage Smart Grid technologies for the nation's electrical grid and make modifications to the loan guarantee provisions from EPAct.