http://www.cepr.net/Economic_Reporting_Review/Nov_24_03.htm
Economic Reporting Review By Dean Baker Mon, 24 Nov 2003 Energy Bill Accord Reached By Republicans For Energy Bill Carl Hulse New York Times, November 15, 2003, Page A1 http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F50B11FE385C0C768DDDA80 994DB404482 No Home Runs in Energy Bill Dan Morgan and Peter Behr Washington Post, November 16, page A10 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A46456-2003Nov15.html These articles report on an agreement between House and Senate Republicans on an energy bill. These articles provide very few specifics -- such as the dollar amounts involved -- on the key spending or tax provisions in these bills. Therefore they provide readers with little basis to assess the merits of the bill. It is worth noting that the bill will include a provision that prohibits lawsuits over damage from the gasoline additive MTBE. This fact is striking, because the prohibition of lawsuits effectively amounts to a government taking -- this provision means that the government is preventing people who have suffered damages, either to themselves or their property, from being compensated. The fact that Republicans would support a taking in this instance is striking. When the Republicans first retook the House of Representatives in 1994, one of the key planks in their platform (the "contract with America") was a prohibition on government takings. At that time, Republicans were concerned about environmental regulations that might have the effect of reducing property values by limiting development. House Approves Energy Measure Dan Morgan Washington Post, November 19, page A1 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A59440-2003Nov18.html 2 Major Unions Oppose Energy Bill on Eve of Senate Vote Dan Morgan Washington Post, November 21, page A6 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A1740-2003Nov20.html These article report on the progress of the energy bill approved by a House-Senate conference committee. Both articles cite Republican claims, without presenting any opposing views, that the bill will create 800,000 jobs. It is not clear that this claim is anything other than a complete fabrication by the Republicans. The job claim is based on vague estimates of the jobs that will be generated in the energy sectors being subsidized (plus grossly implausible multiplier effects), without any job losses being subtracted for less favored sectors. This would be comparable to counting job gains in the airline industry, if the federal government provided a 10 percent tax credit on airline tickets, without noting any job losses due to less auto, bus, or train travel. The job count also does not account for any costs associated with paying for the bill. Money provided as subsidies to the energy industry must either come from higher taxes or spending cuts elsewhere; both costing jobs, or raise the deficit, which can also cost jobs through its effect on interest rates. A comprehensive analysis of the job impact of this bill may find that on net it loses jobs, but even if there are gains, they will almost certainly be less than one tenth the size claimed by the Republicans. Such an implausible claim should not have appeared unanswered. http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/22923/newsDate/24-N ov-2003/story.htm Planet Ark : FACTBOX - Oil, Coal, Power Details of Energy Bill FACTBOX - Oil, Coal, Power Details of Energy Bill Mail this story to a friend | Printer friendly version USA: November 24, 2003 WASHINGTON - To win support from Senate Democrats on a broad energy bill, Republicans on Friday were considering possible changes to the legislation that contains about $31 billion in tax breaks, production incentives and new federal funding over the coming decade. In a vote of 57-40, the Senate failed by three votes to end a filibuster in a procedural vote. Sixty votes were needed to cut off debate and proceed to a final vote. Democrats and moderate Republicans said they opposed the bill because it would protect petrochemical companies from lawsuits for contaminating water with MTBE, a gasoline fuel additive that is suspected of being a carcinogen. Any changes in the legislation would have to also be approved by the House of Representatives, which already voted to adopt the bill. The following summarizes key provisions in the existing energy bill: OIL/GAS * Double production of ethanol blended into gasoline to 5 billion gallons (19 billion liters) by 2012 * Offer $1 billion to help MTBE makers convert to other lines of business before the chemical is banned in 2015 * Share oil royalty payments to give Louisiana and other coastal states $1 billion for restoration projects * Cut royalty payments for small oil or gas wells when prices fall below a set threshold * Offer $18 billion in loan guarantees to build natural gas pipeline from Alaska to the Midwest * Order Interior Department to approve or deny within 30 days each application to drill on federal land ELECTRICITY * Impose nationwide electric reliability standards to prevent a repeat of the August blackout * Bar Federal Energy Regulatory Commission from issuing nationwide rules for electricity markets until 2007 * Repeal the Public Utilities Holding Company Act, a Depression-era law which restricts utility mergers * Order U.S. utilities to reserve space on their transmission grids to serve local customers * Direct FERC to set rules giving utilities more financial incentives to build new transmission lines * Clarify that utilities cannot be forced to pay transmission upgrade costs that do not benefit local customers * Allow utilities to reserve adequate space on their grid networks to serve their own customer demand before giving access to competing independent power producers * Require Interior, Energy Departments to study ways to boost electricity production at federally-owned hydroelectric dams such as the Bonneville Power Administration NUCLEAR * Grant $165 million in tax breaks to encourage building first new nuclear power plants since the Three Mile Island accident in 1979 * Fund a $1 billion nuclear power reactor in Idaho that will use advanced technology * Renew Price-Anderson Act to protect the nation's 103 nuclear power plants from liability lawsuit claims exceeding $15 billion in the event of a serious accident COAL * Spend $500 million on projects to control coal-fired plant emissions of mercury, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide * Spend $1.4 billion on coal gasification combined cycle, hybrid gasification/combustion and ultra-supercritical boilers * Spend $1.6 billion for coal gasification and technology projects to cut emissions of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides * Offer investment credits to build 6,000 megawatts of coal plants which emit less sulfur, nitrogen oxides and mercury * Offer $800 million in loan guarantees for Excelsior Energy Inc.'s coal gasification plant in Minnesota * Order the Interior Secretary to identify restrictions on coal mining on public lands, other than national parks * Eliminate requirement that a mining company post a surety bond or other financial assurance if the company has a history of timely payment of royalties from federal leases CONSERVATION/RENEWABLE FUELS * Offer $2 billion in tax-exempt bonds for commercial buildings using energy-efficient construction materials * Extend tax breaks to new and existing homes that buy more energy-efficient windows, roofs and insulation through 2006 * Extend through the end of 2006 existing 15 percent tax credits for solar and wind technology bought by consumers * Offer tax credit for generating electricity from landfill gas, windmills, garbage, livestock manure or biomass * Offer tax credit of $100 to $150 for consumers who buy energy-efficient clothes washers and refrigerators. * Spend $500 million on projects using wood, brush and chips from forest-thinning to produce electricity, transportation fuels or other energy * Hold federal lease sale for geothermal steam projects, limit royalty payments to 1 to 2.5 percent of revenue * Require Energy Department to set energy efficiency standards for ceiling fans, beverage vending machines and commercial refrigerators and freezers MISC * Spend $1 billion to develop hydrogen as an alternative fuel and to develop hydrogen-powered cars REUTERS NEWS SERVICE ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~--> Buy Ink Cartridges or Refill Kits for your HP, Epson, Canon or Lexmark Printer at MyInks.com. Free s/h on orders $50 or more to the US & Canada. http://www.c1tracking.com/l.asp?cid=5511 http://us.click.yahoo.com/mOAaAA/3exGAA/qnsNAA/FGYolB/TM ---------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Biofuels list archives: http://archive.nnytech.net/index.php?list=biofuel Please do NOT send Unsubscribe messages to the list address. To unsubscribe, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
