US business leaders slam Democrats' energy bill

06 December 2007 20:27  [Source: ICIS news]

WASHINGTON (ICIS news)--US business leaders urged Congress on Thursday to vote down Democrat-sponsored legislation that Republican House officials call a “Kamikaze energy bill” that will only serve to reduce US energy resources.

 

The US Chamber of Commerce warned that the Democrats’ energy bill, HR-6, the “Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007,” will “turn off the lights” for the US energy supply.

 

The chamber said the bill “fails to produce one Btu of new energy while scaling back energy production from fossil fuels”.

 

The House of Representatives is expected to vote on the measure today or tomorrow.

 

Representative Joe Barton (Republican-Texas), ranking member on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, charged that if passed by Congress the bill would raise the costs of gasoline, home heating oil and electricity.

 

Saying the measure would do harm to US energy interests, Barton called the legislation the “Kamikaze energy bill”.

 

However, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Democrat-California) said the legislation "will put us on a path toward energy independence - to strengthen national security, lower energy costs, grow our economy and create new jobs, and begin to reduce global warming".

 

Among other things, the bill would impose some $21bn (€14.3bn) in taxes or tax credit rollbacks on US producers of oil and natural gas, using those revenues instead to fund research on solar, geothermal and ocean current power generation.

 

The legislation also would raise fuel efficiency standards for US-made autos and require electric utilities to use renewable sources such as solar and wind to produce 15% of their output.

 

In addition, the bill would set a goal of 36bn gal/year of US biofuel production and use in transportation by 2022, a major increase from the current renewable fuel standard (RFS) of 7.5bn gal/year by 2012.

 

Pelosi said the tax package "repeals tax breaks for profit-rich oil comapnies and invests that money in clean, renewable energy technologies".  She said the higher auto engine fuel economy standards, renewable electricity requirement and expanded biofuels mandate will reduce both US carbon emissions and dependence on foreign oil.

 

Bruce Josten, executive vice president at the chamber, argued that the new renewable fuels standard is unworkable and said the 15% renewable energy mandate for electric utilities cannot possibly be met.

 

He said the $21bn tax package “singles out the oil and gas industries for punitive treatment” and would “discourage domestic energy investment, result in the loss of US jobs and ultimately decrease supply and increase energy costs for businesses that rely on oil and gas.”

 

The US chemicals industry is heavily dependent on natural gas as a feedstock and energy source.

 

Barton said the energy bill “contains numerous provisions that I and most of my colleagues cannot support”.  Even if the bill passes in both the House and Senate, Barton said President George Bush “will surely veto it”.

 

“This is not the way to write good energy policy,” Barton said.

 

The measure is expected to pass in the House where Democrats hold a 233-200 majority, but passage in the Senate - where Democrats have only a one-vote majority in the 100-seat chamber - is seen as unlikely.  Democrats would have to sway at least nine Republican senators to support the bill and bring it to a vote.

 

($1 = €0.68)

By: Joe Kamalick
+1 713 525 2653

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