Energy Bill: Can it Pass?

The most comprehensive, progressive Energy & Climate Bills we’ve ever seen in this country have begun the process of winding through the House and Senate. This could be the most difficult part of Obama’s plan to gain passage and will need strong advocacy from the green business community. In the House, the Energy and Commerce Committee released a discussion draft of "The American Clean Energy and Security Act." Committee Chair Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and Edward Markey (D-Mass.), who chairs the Energy and Environment Subcommittee, are co-sponsors. Waxman says he hopes to pass the measure out of committee by Memorial Day. In the Senate, the Energy & Natural Resources Committee has held 13 hearings and 30 staff briefings on provisions that would be contained in a bill. They hope to complete a bill by the end of April. House Legislation The House legislation has four components: clean energy, including renewable energy and carbon capture and sequestration; energy efficiency; climate change cap-and-trade program; and provisions to protect citizens from price spikes while promoting green jobs. The bill’s highlights are: – Reduce GHG emissions 20% from 2005 levels by 2020. This is the first bill to embrace science-based GHG emissions reduction targets set […]

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