National Conservation, Environment and Energy Independence Act introduced in US House: oil drilling, coal-to-liquid, Renewable Energy Reserve Fund planned 3
22 members of the US House of Representatives have introduced the National Conservation, Environment and Energy Independence Act that would lift many restrictions on offshore oil drilling, while providing a projected $2.6 trillion in lease and royalty payments that would generate $390 million for a Renewable Energy Reserve Act. The bill introduced by 11 Democrats and 11 Republicans would open up all protected Outer Continental Shelf lands and end the oil shale leasing moratorium. The bill is in sharp contravention of Democratic leadership but in line with Republican demands.
The leaders of the effort were John Peterson, R-Pa.; Neil Abercrombie, D-Hawaii; Thelma Drake, R-Va.; Tim Walz, D-Minn.; Jim Costa, D-Calif.; and Dan Burton, R-Ind.
A group of ten senators is working on a similar plan. “There’s going to be substantially more drilling and substantially more conservation,” Sen. Mary L. Landrieu (D-La.) said of the Senate plan.
The House bill includes:- Ending moratorium on Outer Continental Shelf, Gulf of Mexico, and oil shale lease sales: funds apportioned 30% to general treasury, 30% to states, 8% to conservation, 10% to environmental restoration, 15% to renewable energy, 5% to CCS/nuclear waste, 2% to LIHEAP
- Repealing the Waxman provision (Section 526)
- 6-year extension of renewable energy/energy efficiency tax credits
- Drawdown of light grade petroleum from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, with $100 million going into LIHEAP, $60 million for university research, $15 million for wind research, $30 million for solar research, $30 million for hydro research, $40 million for automotive research, $110 million for industrial emissions research, $70 million for building efficiency R&D, $30 million for geothermal R&D, $30 million for smart grid R&D, $385 million for CCS R&D, $65 million for natural gas extraction research, $5 million for a hydrogen prize, $100 million for battery research
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As a tax paying citizen I want to thank all of you Representatives and Senators of both parties that have joined together to come up with a pratical solution to this countries’ need for energy independence while maintaining and improving our environment and promoting alternative energy reseach. Action like yours restores my faith in our system of government. Please continue to work together for the benefit of all citizens of these United States. Again THANK YOU, Phil&Gail Heim
Let’s cut through the crap. There’s no “oil shortage”. As a matter of FACT, our U.S. Department of Energy reports that the U.S. is presently exporting oil at a record pace, and has been for the last two quarters. Have you seen any long gas lines? Federally mandated reduced speed limits? Rationing?
Anyone implying that there’s a shortage of gasoline in the U.S. is either lying or a fool.
The reason gas is so expensive is because commodities market speculators are making a killing. On July 31, US NEWS & WORLD REPORT revealed, “Exxon accelerated its already aggressive share buy-back program, plowing $8 billion—or 73 percent of the quarter’s profits—into the company’s own stock.”
CNNMONEY.com reported on July 24 that top hedge fund managers and investments advisers testified before Congress that “crude could drop by half in 30 days if new regulations were implemented”. But Republicans in both Houses blocked Dems bills to stop excessive trading on oil commodities.
Yet I haven’t seen a thing about excessive speculation in National Conservation, Environment and Energy Independence Act. I suspect that the only real word out of that fancy title to House Republicans is the word “ACT”, because they’ve been blocking and stalling for years, and now that the cost has gone so high, they’re going to finally “act” like they’re doing something.
It’s just too bad that insider trading is legal for congresscritters, otherwise I suspect there’d be a bunch of them headed for jail over their “Drill HERE Drill NOW pay LESS” stunt which would basically gives Big Oil an even stronger monopoly over our natural resources.
Why should Big Oil drill when all they have to do is pump up the market price with their record-breaking profits?
The U.S. Energy Information Agency reports that even IF the outer continental shelf were opened up to more drilling, and ASSUMING that Big Oil actually starts drilling right away, peak production would not be reached until 2030 and even then production would not have a significant impact on world oil prices.
They’ve been sitting on 66,000 acres of permits and leases for years now, but Republicans recently blocked legislation requiring them to either use them or “lose” them, so that perhaps smaller companies might jump in and start producing.
Why do you think Republicans )and some Dems) did THAT?
For a clue on why, let’s consider how much Shelley Capito (R-WV) earned while she’s been in Congress, and compare it to what she’s been paid. According to OpenSecrets.org, she’s become a multimillionaire through her low-taxed “unearned assets” – simply through her stock and commodities portfolio investments.
Most folks don’t go from just-under a million bucks to multimillionaire by earning $150,000 per year, but then again her husband is a very successful “Personal Investments Manager” at CitiCorps’ Washington, DC branch. Oh and did I mention that CitiCorp just happens to be the largest funder-of-hedge-funds in the world?
Anyway, Rep Capito (who sits on the House’s powerful Banking and Securities oversight committee) voted against the Dem’s “Use It or Lose It” Bill even though it was fashioned to go a long way to break up Big Oil’s monopoly. Meanwhile she’s pushing granting them the option to drill in unopen areas of the Outer Continental Shelf, despite the fact that The U.S. Department of Energy reports that the vast majority of federal oil and gas resources offshore are already available for development.
According to the Minerals Management Service, of all the oil (85.9 billion barrels) and gas (419.9 trillion cubic feet) believed to exist on the Outer Continental Shelf, 82% of the natural gas and 79% of the oil is located in areas that are currently open for leasing (such as areas in the Gulf of Mexico and off the Alaska coast).
So like all the other Republicans that blocked the Dem’s “Use It Or Lose It Bill”, Shelley Capito (R-WV 2nd) is essentially for granting Big Oil the ability to sit on every drop until they can squeeze even more profit out of us.
Is anyone else wondering why she might be doing that?
Dear Friends,
Email Your Senator Today!
I am concerned about the high percentage of our oil that comes from foreign countries. Even in December, as the economy was contracting, we imported nearly 70 percent of the oil we used and paid over $19 billion for it.
I am very interested in the aspects of The American Renewal and Reinvestment Act (H.R. 1) that include the promotion of alternative energy – wind and solar; the building out of a 21st century electrical transmission grid; and incenting trucking companies to upgrade from trucks running on foreign diesel to those running on domestic natural gas.
A Department of Energy study showed that developing our capacity to produce wind energy would not only replace 20 percent of the electricity we now produce using coal-burning plants, but would add 138,000 jobs in the first year and more than 3.4 million over a ten-year span.
Also, if we switch just 350,000 of the 6.5 million heavy trucks running on the nation’s Interstate Highways to domestic natural gas from imported diesel, we could cut our oil imports by over five percent. In December alone that would have kept nearly $1 billion from being shipped off shore.
I hope you will join me in supporting these components of the Pickens Plan as H.R. 1 moves toward final passage in the Senate.
I need you to contact your U.S. Senators to tell them to support the Pickens Plan. Click here to send an email today.
Read the full text of the bill H.R 1>>>
P.S. Savings bonds could be help in economic crisis.
While Washington tries to “fix” the banking and Wall Street mess created by subprime “gotcha” adjustable rate mortgages defaulting en masse, many of us are looking for a safer place to put at least some of our retirement, college funds, etc.
And we also want our country to become more energy-independent and our crumbling infrastructure repaired. But with things as they are, how can we accomplish these three objectives? A new form of U.S. Treasury savings bonds could be the answer.
Without U.S. saving bonds, we wouldn’t have been able to supply our troops and allies like we did in World War II. If the U.S. Treasury issued energy independence and infrastructure savings bonds that paid an interest rate about 3 percent greater than the annualized FED rate adjusted for inflation, only be redeemable on their anniversary date(s), and what they pay is not taxed when they are redeemed at maturity, all three of these objectives can be achieved without any increase in taxes, especially if these funds were only employed as 1-to-2 matching funds.
Such bonds could increase employment enough to even reduce our taxes. Pass this idea on to your friends and then the politicians.
Discussion link: Funding Energy Independence?
Mike Kendall is a Electronic Technician Chief in the US Navy with 27 years service stationed overseas. I’m outlying an idea to assist and work with current plans for achieving energy independence. I urge you, as speaker of the house and the driving force to form the select committee on energy independence and global warming, consider for discussion and introduction into the house US Treasury Savings Bonds for Energy Independance.
Mike created this video and started the Energy Independence US Treasury Savings Bonds Blog at Pickens Plan.
Enjoy this video of Sailor Seymore, the dancing and singing hamster, performs anchors away while we discuss “Energy Independence US Treasury Savings Bonds” as well as discussing discussion points of President Obama’s inaugural address and his campaign speech.
Be sure to join Mike and the many supporters of his Energy Independence US Treasury Savings Bonds Group and my discussion Funding Energy Independence
ETC Mike Kendall USN Mailing address: PSC 476, Box 879, FPO AP, 96322 USA Telephone (803) 265-4756, Email: [email protected]
Stay tuned for more information on green jobs following the Middle Class Task Force’s, first meeting on February 27, 2009 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
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