Energy Bill Revival
Sen. Pete V. Dominici, Senate Energy & Natural Resources Chairman, has revived last year's energy bill. Though passed by the House, the bill was shelved last November because the Senate did not have enough votes to overcome a filibuster. That bill contained up wards of $30 billion in tax breaks and subsidies, most of which would have gone to the coal, oil and other fossil fuel industries. The bill also contained numerous controversial provisions would be harmful to public health, public lands, the environment, national security, and to the taxpayer, according to environmentalists.
The revived bill has been slimmed down to $14 billion worth of tax breaks and subsidies, but still contains many of the provisions that were criticized in the original bill. The National Environmental Trust provides an analysis of the revised energy bill that details specific provisions that are harmful.
What is perhaps even more compelling is that the government's own study indicates that the energy bill would not reduce consumption of fossil fuels (which create greenhouse gases), reduce imports, or achieve other claimed goals of the bill. The Energy Information Administration (EIA), a division of the Department of Energy, studied the proposed energy legislation and assessed its potential impact on prices, consumption, production and imports of energy. While the EIA's study concerned the original bill (because the request came prior to Sen. Dominici's slimmed down bill), the results speak for the overall thrust of the legislation. According to the study, "On a fuel-specific basis, changes to production, consumption, imports, and prices are negligible." (p. vi)
To view your state's share of the cost of this bill and the trade-offs, click here. If you would like to weigh in with your representatives about the energy bill, visit the Sierra Club for a suggested letter, or NPP's own Take Action page to contact your representatives.