Congress
returned to Washington, DC, on
September 8, after its month-long August recess. Members will have about three weeks to try to
complete work on a host of issues, as the year-end target adjournment date is
September 26. Topping the agenda are an energy bill and tax
"extenders" legislation, including energy tax incentives such as the Clean
Renewable Energy Bonds (CREBs) for public power and the production tax credit (PTC) for private developers
of renewable energy.
House
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is expected to release a comprehensive energy
policy bill this week and bring it to a floor vote shortly thereafter. The bill will include a Renewable Portfolio
Standard (RPS), energy incentives, as well as some limited domestic drilling
provisions. With regard to the RPS, Pelosi is expected to include an
earlier House-passed version, which would have required 15 percent renewables
by 2020 and applied only to private utilities, exempting federal, municipal,
and cooperative utilities. While the text
of the overall bill has not yet been released, Republicans have already
expressed opposition to it.
Senate
to Debate Three Competing Proposals
Senate
action on a bill is less certain. Senate
Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has announced he will bring three competing
energy proposals to the Senate floor for a vote. One is a bi-partisan plan being advanced by Sens.
Kent Conrad (D-ND), Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) and a group several moderate Senators
(aka the "Group of 10") which includes offshore drilling, as well as higher
taxes on oil companies to offset extensions of clean energy tax extenders,
energy efficiency and conservation measures, among other things.
Reid has
also announced he will allow the Republicans to bring up an alternative energy
bill, as well as a third effort being
developed by Sens. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) and Max Baucus (D-MT), Chairmen of the
Senate Energy and Natural Resources and Finance Committees, respectively.
In
addition, Reid also announced he will hold an all-day energy summit on Friday,
September 12, led by Sen. Bingaman.
Witnesses will include academics as well as a variety of high level
industry sector representatives, including those from Exelon and General
Motors. The event will be open to the
public and all 100 Senators have been invited to attend.
After the summit,
we expect the details of the Bingaman-Baucus plan to be made public.