On the eve of Congress’s August recess, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) moved to address S.1392, the latest version of energy efficiency legislation proposed by Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Rob Portman (R-OH). The duo has pushed essentially the same provisions in previous iterations of the bill over the last three years, to no avail. Reid’s move ensures at least that S.1392 will be one of the lawmakers’ first orders of business upon return to Washington September 9.
Christian Termyn
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DC UPDATE: Can Shaheen-Portman Survive ‘Pent Up Demand’?
Topics: Federal Policy
DC UPDATE: Shaheen-Portman is Back; Tax Plans are Locked Up
Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Rob Portman (R-OH) yesterday introduced a new version of their Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act of 2013 (known as the Shaheen-Portman bill). The most significant change from the previous version is elimination of the “Commercial Building Energy Efficiency Financing Initiative,” a proposed grant program to support energy efficiency upgrades. The co-sponsors penned an op-ed over the weekend emphasizing that efficiency improvements to U.S. buildings alone could save $1 trillion over the next decade, and speaking to broad, bipartisan support for energy efficiency among businesses and in Washington. Heather Zichal, Deputy Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change, on July 18 praised the bill, saying the President will give it his signature should it be approved by Congress.
Topics: Federal Policy
DC UPDATE: Nominees to Get Votes; Tax Reform ‘Blank Slate’
The confirmation logjam has broken. The Senate reached a deal on Tuesday to overcome resistance to votes on certain Cabinet nominees, clearing the way for a vote on Gina McCarthy’s nomination for EPA Administrator. The timing of her actual confirmation remained unclear, however, with Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) telling reporters to expect a vote “hopefully this week.” Despite filibuster threats from several Republican lawmakers, both sides of the aisle have praised McCarthy for her bipartisanship, having worked for two Republican governors before running the EPA’s air division in the Obama Administration.
Topics: Federal Policy
DC UPDATE: Obama Touts Efficiency, Power Plant Standards
On Tuesday, President Obama unveiled a broad strategy for reducing the nation’s carbon emissions in a way that would move the United States toward a smarter energy future. Speaking at Georgetown University, he outlined a Climate Action Plan incorporating policies and programs to achieve significant economic and environmental benefits, including new energy efficiency standards, increased advanced energy deployment on public lands and in defense applications, and new performance standards for existing power plants and heavy-duty vehicles.
Topics: Federal Policy
DC UPDATE: White House Pushes Transmission; RFS Questioned
Citing the critical importance of a modern grid to the deployment of advanced energy and U.S. energy security, President Obama last week called upon executive agencies to further refine the federal review, siting and permitting process for transmission projects. The call came in the form of a Presidential Memorandum focused on guidelines for the designation of energy corridors and other general provisions for integrated project planning. It also stipulates that the the Secretary of Energy should prepare a Transmission Corridor Assessment Report, delivered in two parts starting December 2013, separately addressing energy corridors for Western and all other states. In March 2012, the Administration issued its first Executive Order related to transmission planning which established an interagency rapid response team to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the siting process.
Topics: Federal Policy