Hill Heat

The Energy and Commerce Committee will hold a full Committee markup on Monday, September 13, at 11 a.m. (EDT) in the John D. Dingell Room, 2123 of the Rayburn House Office Building, on legislative recommendations for its budget reconciliation instructions, which were passed last month by the House and Senate.

The Committee will consider the following Committee Prints:

• Subtitle A: Budget Reconciliation Legislative Recommendations Relating to Air Pollution – Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute
• Subtitle B: Budget Reconciliation Legislative Recommendations Relating to Hazardous Materials – Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute
• Subtitle C: Budget Reconciliation Legislative Recommendations Relating to Drinking Water – Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute
• Subtitle D: Budget Reconciliation Legislative Recommendations Relating to Energy – Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute
• Subtitle E: Budget Reconciliation Legislative Recommendations Relating to Drug Pricing – Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute
• Subtitle F: Budget Reconciliation Legislative Recommendations Relating to the Affordable Care Act – Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute
• Subtitle G: Budget Reconciliation Legislative Recommendations Relating to Medicaid – Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute
• Subtitle H: Budget Reconciliation Legislative Recommendations Relating to CHIP – Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute
• Subtitle I: Budget Reconciliation Legislative Recommendations Relating to Medicare – Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute
• Subtitle J: Budget Reconciliation Legislative Recommendations Relating to Public Health – Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute
• Subtitle K: Budget Reconciliation Legislative Recommendations Relating to Next Generation 9-1-1 – Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute
• Subtitle L: Budget Reconciliation Legislative Recommendations Relating to Wireless Connectivity – Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute
• Subtitle M: Budget Reconciliation Legislative Recommendations Relating to Distance Learning – Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute
• Subtitle N: Budget Reconciliation Legislative Recommendations Relating to Manufacturing Supply Chain – Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute
• Subtitle O: Budget Reconciliation Legislative Recommendations Relating to FTC Privacy Enforcement – Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute
• Subtitle P: Budget Reconciliation Legislative Recommendations Relating to Department of Commerce Inspector General – Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute

The Committee’s Memorandum includes a section-by-section for each of the Committee Prints and a fact sheet on key provisions is available.

Grid Decarbonization Standard: $150 billion in a Clean Electricity Performance Program (CEPP) at the Department of Energy (DOE) The CEPP, which complements tax incentives for clean energy, will issue grants to and collect payments from electricity suppliers from 2023 through 2030 based on how much qualified clean electricity each supplier provides to customers.

• An electricity supplier will be eligible for a grant if it increases the amount of clean electricity it supplies to customers by 4 percentage points compared to the previous year. The grant will be $150 for each megawatt-hour of clean electricity above 1.5 percent the previous year’s clean electricity.
• Electricity suppliers must use the grants exclusively for the benefit of their customers, including direct bill assistance, investments in qualified clean electricity and energy efficiency, and worker retention.
• An electricity supplier that does not increase its clean electricity percentage by at least 4 percent compared to the previous year will owe a payment to DOE based on the shortfall. If, for example, the electricity supplier only increases its clean electricity percentage by 2 percent, the supplier will owe $40 for each megawatt-hour that represents the 2 percent shortfall.
• The CEPP gives electricity suppliers the option to defer a grant or a payment for up to two consecutive years.
• Eligible clean electricity is electricity generation with a carbon intensity of not more than 0.10 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent per megawatt-hour [i.e., renewable and nuclear].

Other Energy and Climate Provisions:

• $13.5 billion in electric vehicle infrastructure
• $7 billion in multiple loan and grant programs at DOE to support development of innovative technologies and American manufacturing of zero emission transportation technologies
• $9 billion for grid modernization
• $17.5 billion in decarbonizing federal buildings and fleets
• $18 billion in home energy efficiency and appliance electrification rebates
• $27.5 billion in nonprofit, state, and local climate finance institutions that support the rapid deployment of low- and zero-emission technologies. At least 40 percent of investments will be made in low-income and disadvantaged communities
• $2.5 billion for planning and installing solar facilities and community solar projects that serve low-income households or multi-family affordable housing complexes
• $30 billion for the full replacement of lead service lines in drinking water systems
• $10 billion for the cleanup of Superfund sites
• Environmental and Climate Justice Block Grants: $5 billion to community-led projects that address environmental and public health harms related to pollution and climate change
• methane fee on pollution from the oil and gas industry above specific intensity thresholds

Health:

• $5 billion in replacing certain heavy-duty vehicles, such as refuse trucks and school buses, with zero emission vehicles Health
• dental, vision, and hearing coverage for seniors under Medicare
• expands Medicaid eligibility to millions of Americans
• $190 billion to expand access to quality home-based services and care for millions of older adults and people with disabilities
• permanently extend the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP)
• ensure that all pregnant women on Medicaid will keep their health insurance for the critical first year postpartum
• ensure that Medicaid coverage begins automatically 30 days prior to an individual’s release from incarceration
• $2.86 billion in funding for the World Trade Center Health Program
• $3 billion in funding to establish the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H)
• $35 billion in investments to rebuild and modernize public health departments
• $15 billion in targeted investments for pandemic preparedness

Other:

• $10 billion in grants for the implementation of Next Generation 9-1-1 services
• $4 billion to the Emergency Connectivity Fund to ensure students, school staff, and library patrons have internet connectivity
• $10 billion to monitor and identify critical manufacturing supply chain vulnerabilities

Filed amendments:

• Amendment (SUB-I-AMD-SCHRADER_01), to the Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute filed by Rep. Schrader (D-OR) to Subtitle I: Medicare
• Amendment to the Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute (Amdt NCB_1), filed by the Minority to Subtitle A: Air Pollution
• Amendment (ARMSTRONG_01), filed by the Minority to Subtitle A: Air Pollution
• Amendment (B1_05), filed by the Minority to Subtitle A: Air Pollution
• Amendment (B1_06), filed by the Minority to Subtitle A: Air Pollution
• Amendment (B1_07), filed by the Minority to Subtitle A: Air Pollution
• Amendment (B1_08A), filed by the Minority to Subtitle A: Air Pollution
• Amendment (B1_09A), filed by the Minority to Subtitle A: Air Pollution
• Amendment (B1_10A), filed by the Minority to Subtitle A: Air Pollution
• Amendment (B1_11A), filed by the Minority to Subtitle A: Air Pollution
• Amendment (B1_12A), filed by the Minority to Subtitle A: Air Pollution
• Amendment (B1_13), filed by the Minority to Subtitle A: Air Pollution
• Amendment (B1_14), filed by the Minority to Subtitle A: Air Pollution
• Amendment (B1_16A), filed by the Minority to Subtitle A: Air Pollution
• Amendment (B2_11), filed by the Minority to Subtitle A: Air Pollution
• Amendment (B3_02), filed by the Minority to Subtitle A: Air Pollution
• Amendment (B3_07), filed by the Minority to Subtitle A: Air Pollution
• Amendment (B3_09), filed by the Minority to Subtitle A: Air Pollution
• Amendment (B3_11), filed by the Minority to Subtitle A: Air Pollution
• Amendment (B3_13), filed by the Minority to Subtitle A: Air Pollution
• Amendment (B3_22), filed by the Minority to Subtitle A: Air Pollution
• Amendment (B3_25), filed by the Minority to Subtitle A: Air Pollution
• Amendment (Burgess_01), filed by Rep. Burgess (R-TX) to Subtitle A: Air Pollution
• Amendment (CURTIS_01), filed by Rep. Curtis (R-UT) to Subtitle A: Air Pollution
• Amendment (Guthrie_01), filed by Rep. Guthrie (R-KY) to Subtitle A: Air Pollution
• Amendment (Inflation Amdt to Subtitle A), filed by the Minority to Subtitle A: Air Pollution
• Amendment (LATTA_01), filed by Rep. Latta (R-OH) to Subtitle A: Air Pollution
• Amendment (LATTA_02), filed by Rep. Latta (R-OH) to Subtitle A: Air Pollution
• Amendment (LATTA_03), filed by Rep. Latta (R-OH) to Subtitle A: Air Pollution
• Amendment (LATTA_032), filed by Rep. Latta (R-OH) to Subtitle A: Air Pollution
• Amendment (scalise_01), filed by Rep. Scalise (R-LA) to Subtitle A: Air Pollution
• Amendment (scalise_02), filed by Rep. Scalise (R-LA) to Subtitle A: Air Pollution
• Amendment (JOHNOH_018A), filed by Rep. Johnson (R-OH) to Subtitle A: Air Pollution;
• Amendment (B3_01), filed by the Minority to Subtitle B: Hazardous Materials
• Amendment (B3_04), filed by the Minority to Subtitle B: Hazardous Materials
• Amendment (B3_15), filed by the Minority to Subtitle B: Hazardous Materials
• Amendment (B3_16), filed by the Minority to Subtitle B: Hazardous Materials;
• Amendment (B3_17), filed by the Minority to Subtitle B: Hazardous Materials
• Amendment (B3_18), filed by the Minority to Subtitle B: Hazardous Materials
• Amendment (Inflation Amdt to Subtitle B), filed by the Minority to Subtitle B: Hazardous Materials
• Amendment (CARTER_01), filed by Rep. Carter (R-GA) to Subtitle A: Air Pollution.
• Amendment to the Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute (PETECA_036), filed by Rep. Peters (D-CA) to Subtitle E: Drug Pricing.
• Amendment (Burgess_03), filed by Rep. Burgess (R-TX) to Subtitle A: Air Pollution

13/09/2021 at 11:00AM

The Committee on Small Business will hold a hybrid markup at 10:00 A.M. (EDT) on Thursday, September 9, 2021, in Room 2360 of the Rayburn House Office Building and on Zoom. Members who wish to participate remotely may do so via Zoom, information to be provided separately. The Committee will consider Committee Print (providing for reconciliation pursuant to S. Con. Res. 14, the Concurrent Resolution on the Budget for Fiscal Year 2022).

Markup notice and information on filing amendments

Committee Print

Chair’s Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute

Includes provision for $2.1 billion in federal debentures to back small-business loans to acquire renewable energy equipment such as solar panels, wind turbines, or battery storage.

09/09/2021 at 10:00AM

From E&E News:

House Democrats last night added funding for rural counties to tax policy bills as part of an effort to end an impasse with the Senate that is jeopardizing extension of expiring renewable energy tax credits. But the Senate’s top tax writer quickly called the House proposal inadequate, leaving unresolved a standoff that has delayed billions of dollars in incentives for alternative power, energy-efficient buildings and other technologies.

The House may vote as soon as today on two separate tax policy bills. The first (H.R. 7201) is a roughly $14 billion package of energy provisions that mirrors incentives the House approved last week. The second (H.R. 7202) is a much larger package of business and personal credits that now includes a reauthorization through 2009 of the Secure Rural Schools program that aids counties hurt by declining timber sales on federal lands. It also now funds the Payment In Lieu of Taxes program for 2009, and the total cost for the two rural provisions combined is estimated at $1 billion over a decade. The Senate has approved a longer extension of these programs at a cost of roughly $3.3 billion.

Last week, the House voted on the energy and non-energy extenders together as one bill. While Oregon lawmakers have pushed the House to include the county funding, this and other changes to the House plan do not appear to have appeased senators who say their year-end tax package is the only one that can win the needed 60 votes. Senate Democrats say their bill is a carefully negotiated compromise with Republicans who in many cases oppose offsets for tax incentives.

But top House Democrats continued to bristle at calls to simply accept the Senate’s bill. “At the end of the day, I think what we are finding is this whole concept of having two bodies constitute the Congress – the House and the Senate – is actually being shattered,” Ways and Means Chairman Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) said last night.

The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) invites you to attend the 11th annual Congressional Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency EXPO + Forum, hosted by the Sustainable Energy Coalition in cooperation with Members of the US House of Representatives and US Senate Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency Caucuses.

This year’s EXPO will bring together more than three dozen businesses, sustainable energy industry trade associations, government agencies, and energy policy research organizations to showcase the status and near-term potential of the cross-section of renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies. A morning news conference will feature Members of the U.S. Congress while afternoon speakers will discuss the role sustainable energy technologies can play in meeting America’s energy needs.

As Congress, the Administration, the business community, environmental advocates, and American voters search for options to address ever-higher energy prices, increased reliance on energy imports, and the potential threat posed by rising levels of greenhouse gas emissions, the EXPO will help address the role that sustainable energy technologies might play. This will include not only the technical aspects of renewable energy and energy-efficient technologies but also related issues such as economics, jobs potential, environmental benefits, current and near-term market potential, model programs in the public and private sectors, institutional and legal barriers, etc.

Schedule for the EXPO + Forum:

• 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Exhibits open for viewing
• 10:00 a.m. News conference featuring Members of Congress (to be announced)
• 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. Speakers (to be announced)

The EXPO is free and open to the public. No RSVP required. For more information, contact Ken Bossong of the Sustainable Energy Coalition at 301-270-6477×23 or [email protected].

31/07/2008 at 09:00AM

By a 52-44 vote, the Senate failed to achieve cloture on the Renewable Energy and Job Creation Act of 2008 (H.R. 6049), the tax package that included extensions of the renewable production tax credit, energy efficiency incentives, and a suite of other tax credit extensions. This version included an Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) patch without any offset.

Sen. Reid (D-Nev.) cast a procedural vote with the Republicans and Sens. Clinton, Kennedy, McCain, and Obama did not vote. Sens. Collins, Coleman, Corker, Smith, and Snowe voted with the Democrats (Collins, Coleman, and Smith are up for re-election). The voting was otherwise entirely on party lines.

The timeline of the tax credits:

• FILIBUSTERED: June 17: H.R. 6049 filibustered 52-44 (Reid procedural vote with GOP)
• FILIBUSTERED: June 10: H.R. 6049 filibustered 50-44 (Reid procedural vote with GOP)
• PASSES SENATE, DIES IN HOUSE: April 10: S.Amdt. 4419 (tax credits without offsets, attached to Dodd housing bill) passes 88-8; not in House version
• PASSES HOUSE: February 27: House passes Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Tax Act (H.R. 5351; tax credits paid by closing oil loopholes) 236-182; referred to the Senate Finance Committee.
• FILIBUSTERED: February 6: S. Amdt 3983 to H.R. 5140 (tax credits without offsets, attached to stimulus package) filibustered by one vote (58-41; Reid procedural vote with GOP, McCain not voting)
• January 30: Senate Finance Committee attaches tax credits to stimulus package
• FILIBUSTERED: December 13: H.R. 6 (tax credits paid by closing oil loopholes) filibustered by one vote (59-40; Landrieu with GOP, McCain not voting). Version of H.R. 6 without tax credits or RES passes 86-8.
• PASSES HOUSE: December 6: House passes H.R. 6 with tax credits and RES 235-181.
• June 21: Senate passes S.Amdt.1502 to H.R. 6 (no tax credits or RES)
• FILIBUSTERED: June 21: S.Amdt. 1704 to S.Amdt. 1502 to to H.R. 6 (tax credits paid by closing oil loopholes) filibustered 57-36 (Landrieu with GOP, Boxer, Brownback, Coburn, Johnson, McCain, Sessions not voting)
• PASSES HOUSE: January 18: House passes H.R. 6 with tax credits and RES 264-163.

On Wednesday, House leadership told reporters that they are having another go at an extension of the renewable and energy-efficiency tax credits that has been stalled since last year. From E&E News:

The House Ways and Means Committee will likely take up the new package next week and will bring it to the floor sometime before Memorial Day, Chairman Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) told reporters yesterday. The renewable energy package will be part of a broader multibillion dollar package of “tax extenders” for various items that are set to expire this year.

“Before the Memorial Day break, we will be bringing to the floor a comprehensive energy tax package that promotes research and development and promotes efficiency,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said yesterday. “The resources are there, the motivation is real, and I think they have reached some level of agreement with the Senate,” she added.

Sen. Max Baucus, chair of the Senate Finance Committee, has included the renewable tax credits with a package that would also extend tax credits against the Alternative Minimum Tax, the Alternative Minimum Tax and Extenders Tax Relief Act of 2008 (S. 2886).

Neither effort provides funding mechanisms.

Yesterday morning, the Senate passed the Ensign-Cantwell clean energy package (S.Amdt 4419) by a vote of 88-8. The package is attached to Sen. Chris Dodd’s (D-Conn.) Foreclosure Prevention Act (S. Amdt 4387 to H.R. 3221), which was approved 84-12.

The future of the energy package now depends on whether the House is willing to consider it a “stimulus” that merits deficit spending.

The eight senators in opposition were Sens. Alexander (R-Tenn.), Bunning (R-Ky.), Byrd (D-W.Va.), Carper (D-Del.), Dodd (D-Conn.), Kyl (R-Ariz.), Sessions (R-Ala.), and Voinovich (R-Ohio). Alexander and Kyl’s alternate version of the package (S. Amdt 4429), which would have extended credits by another year and lowered the wind production credit, died by a 15-79 vote. Dodd had vigorously argued that the renewable tax package was not germane to his housing bill.

Not voting were the three presidential candidates and Sen. Liddy Dole (R-S.C.).

The Senate is meeting this afternoon to resume consideration of Sen. Chris Dodd’s (D-Conn.) Foreclosure Prevention Act (S. Amdt 4387 to H.R. 3221).

On the docket for consideration today is the Ensign-Cantwell amendment (S.Amdt 4419), the latest attempt by Congress to continue renewable and energy efficiency tax incentives due to expire this year. The details of the package offered by Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) and Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) were first reported by Hill Heat last week.

Also up for consideration is Sen. Lamar Alexander’s (R-Tenn.) and Jon Kyl’s (R-Ariz.) second-degree amendment (S. Amdt 4429), which would extend the tax credits from 2009 to 2011 and tweak the marine energy and trash combustion credits.

CQ reported that Sen. Dodd exploded on the floor last week in opposition to efforts to include extensions of the clean energy tax credits, saying “This is a housing bill! This isn’t a Christmas tree! It’s a housing bill! I’m going to oppose every one of these [unrelated amendments] from here on out.”

Dodd did not note the irony that the housing package is being considered as a completely unrelated replacement substitute to the House’s Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Tax Act (H.R. 3221), which would have rolled back tax breaks for oil companies in order to pay for the renewable tax incentives (and has been blocked repeatedly in the Senate, most recently in February). The Ensign-Cantwell amendment does not provide any funding mechanism for the tax credit continuation, and would violate pay-go rules. The Alexander-Kyl amendment would exacerbate the funding problem.

According to a report in CQ Tuesday, the Senate deadlock on the renewable tax-credit package may have broken, led by efforts by Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and John Ensign (R-Nev.). Ensign told reporters he expects “a big announcement” on Thursday.

Details of the renewable incentives have been released, but not the full package, including revenue provisions (that is, is oil company tax breaks will be rolled back) and other elements that have been in previous iterations, such as benefits for the coal industry.

A summary:

• The renewable energy production tax credit (PTC) is extended one year to 2009 and modified to include tidal power
• The solar and fuel cell investment tax credit (ITC) is extended 8 years to 2016
• The residential energy-efficient property credit is extended one year to 2009, and the $2,000 cap is removed
• Clean Renewable Energy Bonds (CREBs) are extended one year to 2009, with an additional $400 million authorized
• The 10% ITC for energy-efficiency improvements to existing homes is extended one year to 2009
• The contractor tax credit for energy-efficient new homes is extended two years to 2010
• The energy-efficient commercial buildings deduction is extended one year to 2009 and increases the $1.80/sqft max to $2.25/sqft
• The energy-efficient appliance credit is extended to 2010

The full language explaining the incentives is after the jump.

Despite earlier reports that the Senate was considering inclusion of the oil-for-renewable package (H.R. 5351) in its budget reconciliation, as the budget markup begins today, the filibuster-proof strategy has been taken off the table.

The National Journal reports:

While a Senate budget resolution is going to set aside $13.4 billion over five years for these renewable and efficiency credits – some of which expire this year – it merely signals that the issue is one of the priorities for Senate Democrats and does not forward debate over how to pay for those credits. . . a spokesman for Reid said he will not resurrect an energy tax debate until after lawmakers come back from the upcoming two-week Easter recess.

The Journal also reports that Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) has been tasked by Majority Leader Reid to attempt to find further Republican votes to establish a veto-proof majority for the package.

CQ Politics points to Sen. Landrieu as objecting to using reconciliation:

Sen. Mary L. Landrieu , D-La., for example, is against using the process to pass renewable-energy tax breaks if they lead to tax hikes on oil and gas companies.

Sen. Landrieu cast a deciding vote against the oil-for-renewable tax package during the 2007 energy bill debate.