Energy & Environment

When Congress takes the time to create an U.S. Commission and we spend millions for commissioners to hold hearings and publish a massive report detailing a crisis, you might expect us to pay attention to the results. Sadly, though the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy's final report calling for immediate action came out in 2004, and though the ocean is fundamentally linked to billions in American economic activity, Congress has paid little attention. We might have learned to see the forest for the trees, but have yet to see the ocean for the waves. Read more...

As a nation we are too dependent on foreign sources for energy, and we must begin to become more self-sufficient through increased domestic production, conservation, and reliance on alternative and renewable energy sources. My bill provides incentives for more domestic production, allows states to have more control over energy activity off their coasts, and encourages production from new energy sources. My bill helps to lower energy costs, begins to reduce dependence on foreign sources, and allows states like Louisiana to share in the benefits from energy production. Louisiana's coastlines have borne the brunt of the consequences of energy exploration for decades, and this legislation will help restore our coastlines for generations to come.

In 2002, Yucca Mountain was certified as the site for the nation's repository for spent nuclear fuel; however, currently, there is no projected date on which the facility's operations will commence. The Nuclear Waste Act set an original goal of 1998 for opening a repository, and by missing that date, the Department of Energy (DOE) was found in breach of that obligation. More recently, the Department had indicated that it hoped to file a license application with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) by December 2004 and to begin accepting waste in 2010. The target for the license application was missed and the Department no longer believes that the facility will be open in 2010.In addition, the long standing issue of funding for the Yucca Mountain project continues to be of concern. While the balance in the Nuclear Waste Fund is currently $19 billion, annual appropriations are only a fraction of the amount contributed by ratepayers.

 

As a strong supporter of the Yucca Mountain program, I am concerned about these issues which are affecting the filing of the license application and the ultimate opening of the facility.

Last week on the House Floor...[HR:5441], the Fiscal Year 2007 Homeland Security Appropriations bill.This bill would provide $33.1 billion for the Homeland Security Department and related activities. The bill includes $7.7 billion for customs and border protection; $6.4 billion for the Transportation Security Administration, including fees; $8.1 billion for the Coast Guard; $1.3 billion for the Secret Service; and $2.6 billion for response and recovery efforts conducted by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. H.R. 5441 passed the House, with my support, 389-9.

[HR:5521], the Fiscal Year 2007 Legislative Branch bill.

This bill would appropriate $3 billion for legislative branch operations, excluding Senate operation. It would provide $1.1 billion for operations of the House of Representative, $570 million for the Library of Congress, $488 milllion for the Government Accountability Office (GAO), $259 million for the Capitol Police, and $131 million for the Government Printing Office. It would abolish the office of Architect of the Capitol and transfer its functions to the GAO. H.R. 5521 passed the House, with my support, 361-53.

Read more...

This legislation simply helps establish some certainty for companies making a huge financial commitment and long time commitment to building a new refinery. A federal coordinator would be established who would work with the federal agencies involved in the permitting process. The agencies would have to stick to their time lines without endless delays in making decisions.

There are no changes to environmental standards in this bill. And state and local processes would go on as usual.

Yesterday I introduced legislation called the "Plug-In Hybrid Electrical Vehicle Act of 2006." The bill encourages government and private industry to work together to develop new technologies that will make plug-in hybrids more cost effective. Through research and development grants, scientists will focus on producing cars made of light-weight materials and longer-running batteries. The bill also establishes a pilot program that will award 25 grants to help local governments purchase fleets of plug-in vehicles. Plug-in hybrids save money, conserve energy, protect the environment and reduce America's dependence on foreign oil. For economic, environmental and strategic reasons, it makes sense to encourage automakers to go beyond their already popular hybrid vehicles and to develop and produce plug-in electric hybrid vehicles.

The Refinery Permit Process Schedule Act legislation addresses the basic fact that our nation's demand for refined products outstrips supply by a growing margin due to the lack of domestic refining capacity, which has led to the predictable result of higher and higher prices for all Americans. An uncertain and disorganized system of regulations and approvals has strangled the planning of all new refineries since 1976. A growing shortfall increases our reliance on imported refined products and causes prices to rise accordingly. This legislation will streamline a badly disjointed approval process and assist local, state, and federal officials in untangling the confusing and sometimes contradictory regulations and permitting required by various regulatory agencies. A primary goal of the legislation is also to promote new biofuel and petroleum refineries being constructed outside of the Gulf of Mexico.

Currently, half of all our domestic refinery capacity is concentrated in the Gulf States, a region too vulnerable to natural disasters. That in turn puts the U.S. energy security at risk and causes periodic supply disruptions and price increases. Simply expanding our current refineries fails to address this concentration and indeed makes it worse. Moreover, such expansion only increases our over reliance on crude oil as a feedstock. Constructing new refiners in other regions provides needed geographic distribution and also creates the opportunity to utilize locally available biomass and other renewable fuel feedstocks. Our agricultural and forestry resources are currently sufficient to sustainably displace more than one third of our transportation fuel needs, and we should support domestic supply over protecting the import-dependent status quo.

We need to improve the current system that has led to tight supplies, high prices for consumers, a risky concentration of capacity in the Gulf region, and an over dependence on foreign crude oil.

Republicans are at it again, bringing up bills they claim will help average consumers, but which are actually just handouts to big oil.

This week, House Republicans offer the Refinery Permit Process Act, which takes decision-making power away from local and state governments when it comes to oil refinery construction and expansion, and gives it to the federal government instead.

Our colleagues on the other side of the aisle say that current health and environmental regulations are getting in the way of oil companies increasing their refining capacities - but that is simply not true. In fact, several refiners have announced expansion plans totaling over 1.1 million barrels per day of capacity - all under current law.

Even the CEO of Shell testified before the U.S. Senate last November that "we are not aware of any environmental regulations that have prevented us from expanding refinery capacity or sitting on a new refinery."

This legislation is clearly not needed. It is time the House Republican leadership bring bills to the floor that will actually decrease our dependence on foreign oil and relieve the price burden on consumers.

Today, we are set to continue our efforts to address high gas prices by voting on the "Refinery Permit Process Schedule Act," an important bill that will increase our domestic ability to refine crude oil by reducing bureaucracy and streamlining the permit approval process. We must increase the production of refined petroleum here at home rather than importing it from other countries whose interests are not necessarily in line with ours. As member of the House International Relations Committee, I can tell you without hesitation that we do not want to be dependent on countries like Venezuela for refined petroleum. One way to end that dependency is to increase the amount of refined crude oil we create here at home. It is hard to increase that domestic supply when we have not built a refinery in the U.S. in thirty years. Getting refineries online is important to increasing production here at home, but that also needs to be combined with an increase in domestic exploration. This is why I am glad we recently took another vote on opening up a small portion of the Alaskan National Wildlife Reserve (ANWR) to oil exploration. Oil exploration in ANWR is essential to helping drive down gas prices in the long run. In fact, at peak production levels, development in ANWR could deliver us an additional 1.5 million barrels of oil per day. It could become the single largest conventional energy resource in America. And it can all be done while we protect the natural beauty of the Refuge.

The passage of the "Refinery Permit Process Schedule Act" today will be another key step toward weaning our country off of foreign oil. Hopefully the Senate will follow our lead and take up this important bill and the ANWR bill. We have the ability to drive down gas prices over the long-term and it all starts here at home.

One of the few ways Congress can do something, really anything, to affect high gasoline prices is to increase the supply of products. To increase supply we must increase our domestic refinery capacity. The Refinery Permit Process Schedule Act that the U.S. House will vote on this Wednesday would simply establish a federal coordinator to work with the federal government agencies responsible for issuing permits in the development of a new refinery.

This would help eliminate some of the needless delays that beset any large project, such as a refinery. The bill also looks at closed military bases for possible sites for a refinery, including at least one biofuels refinery. In addition, this legislation would benefit coal to liquid refineries, which I strongly support.

The bill does not exempt a refinery developer from any regulations or environmental standards. It simply gives them a single point person to assist in running the maze of the permitting process and tries to keep government agencies on a time schedule for making their decisions.