The measure marks a dramatic turn for U.S. energy policy
Noam N. Levey & Richard Simon Chicago Tribune August 5, 2007
WASHINGTON Pushing to chart a new national energy policy, House Democrats on Saturday passed legislation that would require the nation's utilities to generate more electricity from clean-energy sources, such as the wind and the sun.
And in another indicator of the changed political landscape on Capitol Hill, they stripped the oil and gas industries of $16 billion in tax incentives and voted to apply those tax breaks to efforts to spur production of cleaner forms of energy.
The energy measures passed in a final burst of activity before lawmakers were to adjourn for their summer recess this weekend.
Late Saturday, the House also modified the Foreign Intelligence Services Act. The changes, a concession to the White House that was strongly opposed by liberal Democrats, would expand the authority of U.S. spy agencies to monitor overseas phone calls and e-mails. The measure passed 227 to 183 with Republicans providing 186 of the "yes" votes.
The House also approved as much as $255 million in emergency aid for repairs of the Interstate 35W bridge that collapsed Wednesday in Minneapolis.
The energy legislation, part of a broad energy package that congressional Democrats hope to send to the president later this year, would mark the first time the federal government had set a national standard for so-called renewables.
If enacted, the measure would mandate that utilities generate about 15% of their electricity from renewable sources by 2020. Power plants account for about a third of the carbon dioxide emissions the leading contributor to global warming in the United States.
"We are turning toward the future," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco), who has made legislation to combat global warming a priority. "This beautiful planet is God's gift to us. We have a moral responsibility to preserve it."
The renewable-energy bill passed 241-172, with 26 Republicans joining Democrats on Saturday to back the new standard. The tax package passed 221-189, with nine Republicans joining Democrats.
The California delegation split along party lines, with Democrats voting in favor and Republicans opposed. Reps. Duncan Hunter (R-El Cajon) and Tom Lantos (D-Burlingame) did not vote.
The House energy legislation must still be reconciled with an energy bill that passed the Senate in June a version without a renewable requirement or the removal of oil industry tax breaks. And the White House had threatened a veto, criticizing the bill Friday as failing to address high energy costs or promote domestic energy production.
But the measure marks a dramatic turn for U.S. energy policy and is a sharp contrast to the energy bill passed in 2005 by the Republican-controlled Congress.
That legislation emphasized greater production of traditional energy sources, such as coal, oil and nuclear power.
The House bill is the counterpart to the Senate's energy legislation, which passed in June and contains provisions to increase the average-fuel-efficiency requirements for cars for the first time in nearly two decades.
[Read More]
Linear Mode
