BIPARTISAN NO MORE: The House Energy and Commerce Committee signed off on its energy reform bill on Wednesday, but the bill has far less bipartisan support than it once did.
The committee approved the bill on a 32-20 vote, with only three Democrats in favor. A previous, albeit watered-down, version of the bill passed a subcommittee unanimously this summer.
Democrats knocked Republicans over the bill, arguing it supported fossil fuels over renewable energy. Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) said committee Republicans took out many provisions that had bipartisan support, including funding for pipeline repairs and energy efficiency grant programs.
{mosads}”This bill only aims to help polluters,” Pallone said during the markup. “Meanwhile, it continues to ignore the impacts of climate change, which remain the biggest threat to our energy security and way of life.”
Even so, Energy and Commerce Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) said the bill represents the committee’s best chance to overhaul federal energy laws this Congress.
“We will continue working toward building a bipartisan consensus as our goal remains getting something to the president’s desk that will be signed into law,” he said in a statement. “We are on to the floor.”
Read more here.
ON TAP THURSDAY I: Thursday is the deadline for the Environmental Protection Agency to release its updated federal standard on surface level ozone.
The agency has proposed a rule limiting ozone levels to between 65 or 70 parts per billion, a level stricter than the current 75 parts per billion standard. Environmental groups and health officials say a strong standard will help public health, but Republicans and industry groups have slammed the proposed restriction as costly and hard to implement.
Our preview of the rule is here.
ON TAP THURSDAY II:
The Senate Banking Committee will mark up legislation lifting the ban on crude oil exports.
Rest of Thursday’s agenda …
The Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship will hold a hearing on the EPA’s Animas River spill. Rep. Scott Tipton (R-Colo.) will testify.
NEWS BITE:
The crude oil export ban has led to more than $1 trillion in lost profits for American oil producers since the 1970s, according to a new analysis.
The conservative American Action Forum, looking at oil export data and historic price information, concluded that the 40-year-old export ban has reduced sales by $1.2 trillion for oil producers.
In a separate study, the Congressional Budget Office said that an export ban bill working through Congress now would bring in about $1.4 billion in funds for the government over the next 10 years.
The studies comes as lawmakers move closer to voting on a bill to lift the ban. A House vote could come next week, and the legislation is moving through the Senate.
AROUND THE WEB:
Elon Musk intends Tesla vehicles to have a 745-mile range and be fully self-driving by 2020, Mashable reports.
The administration of Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R), a Republican presidential candidate, reaffirmed its support for restarting the state’s renewable energy mandate on Wednesday, the Toledo Blade reports.
Get ready to batten the hatches: Hurricane Joaquin may be on its way to the East Coast, and Washington, D.C. The Washington Post’s Capital Weather Gang has the latest.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
Check out Wednesday’s stories …
-House panel approves energy reform bill
-EPA drops water pollution rules
-Judge in Wyoming blocks fracking rule
-Senators eye short-term fix for conservation fund
–Gore: GOP ‘denies the reality of science’ on climate change
-Manufacturers, mayors spar on ozone rule
-Feds set to impose major ozone rule
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