Today, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
(D-CA) brought H.R. 6899, the Comprehensive
American Energy Security and Consumer Protection Act, to the House floor
for consideration. There will be limited
debate and no amendments allowed; however, Republicans will be permitted to
offer a "motion to recommit" (i.e. one chance to change the bill), at
which time they will likely put forth a Republican alternative, H.R. 6566, The American Energy Act.
H.R. 6899
was crafted primarily by the Speaker and released late last night.
Republicans are expected to oppose it on both substance (i.e. doesn't
open enough oil/gas resources, won't lower gas prices, etc.) and process
(i.e. being excluded from drafting, not going through regular, committee
order, and not being able to offer amendments).
The bill is expected to pass with some Republican support, while the
Republican alternative will likely fail along partisan lines.
As
expected, the bill includes provisions to open certain areas to oil and gas
drilling, extend renewable and energy efficient tax incentives and repeal tax
incentives and royalties to the oil industry, among other provisions.
Highlights of interest:
-The Clean Renewable Energy Bonds (CREBs) provisions are
virtually identical to what was included in the previously-passed HR
6049. They would: 1) divide the allocation evenly among public power
utilities, electric cooperatives and governmental
entities; 2) change the allocation method for public power utilities to "pro-rata";
3) and make other, technical changes. However, HR 6899 allocates
$1.75 billion in new bonding authority, rather than the $2 billion in
earlier versions.
-Bill also includes a one-year extension of production
tax credit for wind and three-year extension for other qualifying
facilities (closed-loop biomass, open-loop biomass, geothermal, small
irrigation, hydropower, landfill gas, and trash combustion), as well as an
eight-year extension of the investment tax credit for solar energy and
fuel cells.
-Includes the previously House-passed "Renewable
Electricity Standard" (aka renewable portfolio standard) that requires 15%
renewables by 2020. It exempts federal, municipal, and cooperative
utilities.
Senate
Advances Multiple Bills
Also,
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has said he will bring three competing
energy proposals to the Senate floor for a vote, possibly late Tuesday
(9/16). One is a bipartisan plan being
advanced by Sens. Kent Conrad (D-ND), Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) and a group of
several moderate Senators, aka the "Gang of 10" (although the count is now up
to about 20 cosponsors), 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. According to a recent draft of the bill, it also
includes the House-approved CREBs language that NEPPA has advocated.
Reid
has also announced he will allow debate on a Republican alternative energy
bill, as well as a third energy bill being developed by Sens. Jeff Bingaman
(D-NM) and Max Baucus (D-MT), Chairmen of the Senate Energy and Natural
Resources (ENR) and
Finance Committees, respectively. Separately, Chairman Baucus and Finance
Committee Ranking Member Chuck Grassley (R-IA) released a summary of a $ 40
billion energy-tax incentive package, which also appears to include the
House-approved CREBs language, among other things.
Bi-partisan
Global Extenders Tax Bill under Discussion; May Move on Energy
Based on reports from closed-door
meetings, it appears that Senate efforts to reach a bipartisan agreement on a
larger global business tax-extender bill may bear fruit. This plan is expected to include extensions for popular and
bi-partisan business tax credits such as the research and development (R&D)
tax credit and the alternative minimum tax patch, which is set to expire at the
end of the year. It is appears all tax
provisions - energy and business extenders will move as one package, however it
is unclear if it will move as a stand-alone bill or be offered to one of the
energy proposals mentioned above.