Today in Washington D. C. - Sept 12, 2008

On The Floor: The Senate reconvened at 9:30 AM today and resumed consideration of the Defense authorization bill (S. 3001). There will be no votes today or Monday. An energy summit is being hosted by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee today.
The House yesterday (9/11) reaffirmed by a vote of 376-29 the Senate vote on (HR 6532) to rescue the federal highway trust fund by transfer (restoration) $8 billion from the treasury to the highway fund.

From Senate & News Sources: This morning, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell addressed en energy summit being held by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, saying, “Republicans, I assure you, are open to any reasonable suggestion that will lead to a concrete, meaningful result.” This is what Republicans have been looking for all along, and it’s a positive sign that Democrats are moving in that direction. However, the energy bill House Democrats have unveiled has a number of troublesome provisions that may not get the country to where we need to be on energy production.

CQ Today reports, “While the [Democrats’] draft bill would authorize coastal states to permit drilling at least 50 miles off their shores, the states would not share in royalties paid on energy production. Critics say that would eliminate any incentive for states to opt in.” Indeed, The Hill reported yesterday on concerns about the lack of royalties for states, “rais[ing] the possibility that expanded offshore drilling could be approved by the federal government but blocked by coastal states.”

Further, some Republicans are concerned that the bill “would leave out some of the most promising areas for offshore production, including the Manteo region off of North Carolina and the Destin Zone off Florida,” according to CongressDaily. And Democrat Rep. Jim Matheson of Utah is disappointed that the bill doesn’t remove the ban on oil shale exploration.

These are far from the only concerna with the Democrats’ proposal. According to CQ Today, the House bill would also“[r]equire utilities to produce a percentage of their electricity from renewable sources, such as wind and solar” and would “[r]oll back tax incentives for oil companies.” These ideas were rejected by the Senate last year and could threaten the bill’s passage this year. Eliminating tax incentives for oil companies could hurt competitiveness and increase production costs at a time when we want to be encouraging domestic energy production. The renewable electricity production rate is all but certain to raise utility rates around the country, but especially in the South.

Republicans stand ready to support bipartisan legislation that makes serious efforts to “find more and use less” American energy. But if Democrats put forth bills that are not going result in real offshore oil exploration and contain harmful, previously rejected tax hikes and mandates, the chances of passing a meaningful energy bill are diminished.

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