Congressional Schedule Update - Appropriations Driving Adjournment
The Senate will be in recess during the entire Columbus Day week, October 8-12. The House will be in recess Friday, October 5, and the following Friday, October 19, but will be in session on Tuesday, October 9 through Friday, the 12th.
House Leadership also announced that November 16 is its scheduled adjournment date, although there is wide speculation that Congress have to stay later, perhaps into late December in order to complete its appropriations work.
On Saturday, September 29, President Bush signed a continuing resolution (CR) to fund the government through November 16. The CR was necessary because the current fiscal year expired on September 30 and no FY 08 appropriations bill had been passed and/or signed into law. To date, the House has completed work on all 12 of its appropriations bills, while the Senate has only completed four. None have been reconciled between the House and Senate and sent to the White House. To complicate matters, the rhetoric between the President and the Democratic-controlled Congress has intensified, with the President threatening to veto any bills if their funding levels are higher then the Administration's 2008 budget request.
If the debate drags on through November, and even into December, the spending bills could be combined into a large omnibus measure rather then passed individually. Alternatively, there could be a stand-off between Congress and the President, shutting down the federal government, as occurred in 1995.
GAO Staff Assigned to RTO Study
Last week, staff to Sens. Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) and Susan Collins (R-ME) spoke with key staff at the General Accountability Office (GAO) on the agency's plans to move forward on an investigation of Regional Transmission Organization (RTO) markets and whether they are bringing benefits to consumers. GAO indicated it would develop a "scope of work" for its review and report back to the Senate offices in January/February. If the Senators are comfortable with that scope of work, GAO will then commence work on the actual study, with a tentative completion date of September 2008.
Lieberman and Collins, in their respective capacities as Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, requested that the GAO launch an investigation into the costs, structure, and operations of the nation's RTOs and Independent System Operators (ISOs). In their May 2007 letter, the Senators said "RTOs and (ISOs), established in response to a 2000 FERC order, were supposed to increase efficiency and reduce the cost of wholesale electricity." The letter requested GAO to determine whether RTOs/ISOs are having that intended outcome.
GAO has also contacted staff at the American Public Power Association (APPA) and the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) to gather information. Morgan Meguire will keep members informed as this effort moves forward.
DOE Announces National Interest Electric Transmission Corridors
On October 2, the Department of Energy announced the designation of two National Interest Electric Transmission Corridors (NIETC) -- the Mid-Atlantic Area National Interest Electric Transmission Corridor, and the Southwest Area National Interest Electric Transmission Corridor. According to a press release from Kevin Kolover, Secretary for Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability, the national corridors are comprised of two geographic areas where consumers are adversely affected by
transmission capacity constraints or congestion. DOE has made each National Corridor designation effective for twelve years.
The Mid-Atlantic Area National Corridor includes certain counties in Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, Maryland, Virginia, and all of New Jersey, Delaware, and the District of Columbia. The Southwest Area National Corridor includes certain counties in California and Arizona.
Earlier this year, DOE issued draft national corridor designations, and then consulted with state and local agencies, regional entities, and the public. The Department also opened a 60-day public comment period, held over 60 hours of public meetings across the country, and received and evaluated over 2,000 public comments.
Today's designations do not direct the construction of any new transmission facilities, nor do they decide whether or where any new electric transmission facilities should be built or disapprove the construction of any particular proposed new facilities. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPA 2005) authorizes the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to issue, under certain circumstances, permits for new transmission facilities within a National Corridor. Generally, if an applicant does not receive approval from a State to site a proposed new transmission project within a National Corridor within a year, FERC may consider whether to issue a permit and to authorize construction of the project.
For additional details, please go to http://nietc.anl.gov/
LIHEAP Funds Released; New England Members Weigh-in
On September 27, the Administration released $131.17 million in Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) emergency contingency funds. To address the anticipated high costs for heating fuel this winter, $106.17 million will be distributed to all states under the regular block grant formula. An additional $25 million has been allotted to seven states largely dependent on heating oil. Those seven states are: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Alaska.
Morgan Meguire, on behalf of NEPPA, contacted New England congressional offices to encourage their support on House and Senate "Dear Colleague" letters to the Administration urging the release of the funds. In the Senate, the letter was circulated by Sens. Jack Reed (D-RI) and Susan Collins (R-ME) and signed by 52 other senators including Olympia Snowe (R-ME), John Kennedy (D-MA), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Joseph Lieberman (I-CT), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), and Chris Dodd (D-CT) from New England.
In the House, 112 members signed the Dear Colleague letter from Reps. Oberstar (D-MN) and LaTourette (R-OH), co-chairs of the Northeast-Midwest Congressional Coalition. From New England, the following members signed on: Reps. John Olver (D-MA), Richard Neal (D-MA), James McGovern (D-MA), Barney Frank (D-MA), William Delahunt (D-MA), John Larson (D-CT), Joseph Courtney (D-CT), Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), Chris Shays (R-CT), Patrick Kennedy (D-RI), James Langevin (D-RI), Tom Allen (D-ME) and Mike Michaud (D-ME).