DC Hill Update 10/8/09: Analysis of the "Clean Energy Jobs & American Power Act"

Over the last week, the 1Sky team has been working hard to produce an easy-to-read preliminary summary of the Kerry-Boxer "Clean Energy Jobs & American Power Act." See 1Sky’s summary of the "Clean Energy Jobs & American Power Act" here.

The bill (S.1733, the "Clean Energy Jobs & American Power Act") was released last week to much fanfare. Looking ahead, the new bill will be expanded, marked up in the Environment and Public Works Committee (EPW), and joined with sections written in other committees to form a package moved on to the Senate floor.

1. Climate Bill Timing

Senator Boxer, Chairwoman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, told reporters this week that she will have a revised draft of the Kerry-Boxer bill "done [by] the end of this week, the beginning of next week" (subscription site). She then plans on sending the new bill to the EPA for economic analysis before publicly releasing the legislation. A Boxer aide said that there is a Friday (10/9) deadline for staffers to work out language about the new bill, with a Wednesday (10/14) deadline for Senators to finish brokering deals.

Hearings in the EPW committee will follow the release of the new bill. A committee rule states that hearings must be announced two weeks in advance and no announcement has been made yet. It is likely that hearings will not be held before the last week of October. Following hearings on the bill as introduced, Chairwoman Boxer plans to release an updated version of the bill as a "chairman's mark."

That new version of the Kerry-Boxer bill will then be marked up in the EPW Committee and ultimately passed on to the Senate floor. This is likely to happen in early-to-mid-November (subscription site).

Other committees (Agriculture, Commerce, Finance, and Foreign Relations) have jurisdiction over the bill as well and are expected to at least offer suggestions to the EPW committee, if not mark it up as well. Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), Chair of the Agriculture Committee, recently told reporters that it is "very likely" she will elect to mark up the portions of the bill regarding domestic agriculture and carbon market oversight. Ideally, this would happen at the same time as the EPW mark-up, but a timeline has not been set (subscription site). This is a change from her previous position that she would not mark up the bill.

The Senate Finance Committee, chaired by Senator Max Baucus (D-MT), will definitely mark up the bill and add language about the allocations of carbon permits per his committee’s jurisdiction, but he has not determined a timeline due to heavy involvement in crafting a health care bill (read below for more).

2. Senators Respond to the New Bill

In response to the introduction of the Kerry-Boxer bill, Senators had plenty of opinions to share (subscription site). Here is a sampling of how Senators are reacting to the new Kerry-Boxer bill:

• Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) commented that he would continue working with other centrists, including Sens. John McCain (R-AZ) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC), to expand nuclear provisions in the bill:

  [Kerry and Boxer] started a process today and I thank them for that. I think they would agree that their bill as it's laid down today can't get 60 votes and so I'm going to do whatever I can with a lot of others.

• Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV), usually abrasive at the mere mention of climate legislation, thanked Kerry and Boxer for the carbon capture and storage (CCS) provisions in the bill and added,

While this is an encouraging sign, we have a long way to go on this legislation. Many issues have yet to be addressed. There is still a tough road ahead.

• Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) seconded Sen. Byrd's apprehension:

  Requiring 20 percent emission reductions by 2020 is unrealistic and harmful...It is simply not enough time to deploy the carbon capture and storage and energy efficiency technologies we need. Period.

• Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) applauded the co-sponsors' efforts:

  I believe it is imperative that we end energy paralysis and confront this monumental 21st century challenge...At the same time, it is imperative any legislation incorporates the well-being of our economy as a foremost priority -- especially given unemployment rates nationally are approaching 10 percent.

• Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) was less enthusiastic about the bill: "These are fancy, complicated words for high-cost energy that will send jobs overseas looking for cheap energy." Sen. Mike Johanns (R-NE) said, "It is to the left of Speaker [Nancy] Pelosi and to the left of the president." Other Republican lawmakers announcing their outright opposition to the bill include Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK), Sen. John Thune (R-SD), and Sen. Kit Bond (R-MO).
  
  
• Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) pledged to try to increase short term emissions reductions targets during committee mark-up.
  
  
• Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) expressed concerns over the costs of implementing the policy, saying that auctioning a portion of emissions allowances "is going to drive the cost up for energy significantly higher."
  
  
• Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-ND) continued to question the ability of regulators to reign in speculation and Wall Street bankers in a proposed carbon market.

1Sky and our field organizers around the country will continue to monitor and respond to statements from lawmakers as the bill moves through the Senate.

3. Obama Administration Furthers New Clean Energy Investments

The Obama Administration continues to use its executive power to further invest in a clean energy future and cut emissions as legislation is crafted in Congress. The Department of Energy announced this week that they will spend $750 million from the Recovery Act to expand the deployment of "conventional renewable energy generation projects," like wind and solar. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu noted that the funding will cover the cost of loan guarantees, which could support as much as $4 billion to $8 billion in lending to private sector clean energy projects (subscription site).

President Obama signed an executive order this week requiring federal agencies to set 2020 emission-reduction targets for greenhouse gases (subscription site). The federal government is the largest consumer of energy in the U.S. economy and the new executive order mandates the federal government invest in energy efficiency technology for their offices.

4. Health Care Timing

At 2:15AM on Friday, October 2nd, the Senate Finance Committee finished their marathon seven-day mark-up of Sen. Baucus' health reform proposal. Due to procedural tradition, the Committee did not vote on passing the bill out of committee on Friday as they were waiting on a cost estimate of the bill. The Congressional Budget Office released their projected price tag of the bill on Wednesday night, October 7, estimating that the bill will expand health care coverage 94% of the country, cost $829 billion over 10 years, and reduce the deficit by $81 billion over the next decade.

Chairman Baucus announced on Thursday morning that his committee will vote on passage of the bill out of the Finance Committee on Tuesday, October 13th. The onus of shepherding health care reform through the Senate will then move from Baucus' hands to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's, although Baucus and many members of the Senate Finance Committee will continue to be heavily involved in the debate.

Both Majority Leader Reid and the Administration are calling for a bill to be passed by Thanksgiving.

Chairman Baucus has not specified concrete timeline for marking up the climate bill, but he has stated that he will be taking his cues from Sen. Reid in regards to when he will have a mark-up finished. 1Sky continues to urge the Senate to pass a climate bill this fall.

5. U.S. Chamber of Commerce Fractures

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a leading opponent of climate action, is losing members daily due to its opposition of clean energy jobs legislation and its very public call for a "Scopes Monkey Trial" on the science of climate change. Two weeks ago, PNM Holdings and PG&E, two of the nation's largest utilities, announced they were terminating their membership with the Chamber due to irreconcilable differences on climate legislation.

The exodus continued last week with Exelon, the nation's largest utility, announcing they were leaving as well. Nike, long-time advocates for climate legislation, decided to step down from the Chamber's Board of Directors.

This week, Apple resigned their membership effective immediately. NRDC's Pete Altman has chronicled this whole episode brilliantly on the NRDC Switchboard blog.

Prepared by 1Sky's Jason Kowalski and Ben Wessel. Send comments or questions to jason@1sky.org.