RUMOR: HOUSE WILL DEBATE NEW ENERGY INCENTIVES

Gas pump prices get voters’ attention. As a result, legislation on energy often becomes a political football. Congress used the public’s interest in more rigorous auto mileage requirements to draw attention to the fight over last year’s energy bill. The fight produced more demanding mileage standards but neither a national Renewable Electricity Standard (RES), mandating a minimum level of New Energy power production by a date certain, nor an extension of vital tax credit subsidies to New Energy (analogous to the subsidies long provided for the fossil fuels industries).

The House was amenable to the New Energy incentives but New Energy lost in the Senate by 1 vote.

Senate Democrats once again challenged the recalcitrant Senate minority in early February by trying to include the New Energy tax credits in the economic stimulus package. The minority was defiant. New Energy lost by 1 vote again. But Democratic leaders made their point. Republican Senators who must answer to voters in November came over to New Energy in the fight.

Now Speaker Pelosi is threatening to bring a debate over New Energy incentives back to the House to highlight the public’s resentment at recent announcements of huge oil company profits. Pelosi’s new package is expected to contain something like the shift of $13 billion of fossil fuels’ subsidies to New Energy included in the House 2007 energy bill provisions cut by the Senate. Pelosi would no doubt also be taunting the White House, which backed up the obstinate Senate minority’s rejection of the New Energy incentives with a threat to veto any legislation containing them.

For political junkies, this is becoming a struggle of fascinating proportions. But those who believe (as the NY Times’ Tom Friedman so often says) that “green is the new red, white and blue…” can only shake their heads and wonder how many times a recalcitrant minority, funded by Big Utilities and Old Energy, can hold back development of 21st Century energy.

Green: Senators voted for New Energy incentives. Red: Senators voted against New Energy incentives. Gray: Senators split. (click to enlarge)
An interactive clickable version of the above map is at: Senate vote on PTC. With a further click, Senators can be alerted that their constituencies are paying attention to this process.

House could weigh energy tax bill next week: aides
Chris Baltimore (w/Christian Wiessner), February 8, 2008 (Reuters via Yahoo News)

WHO
The U.S. House of Representatives (Nancy Pelosi (D-Ca), Speaker); unnamed Democratic aides

WHAT
Speaker Pelosi may very soon bring back legislation extending New Energy tax credits financed by funds shifted from Old Energy subsidies. She reportedly thinks the floor fight would focus voter resentment toward huge oil company profits on opponents of the tax credits.

Speaker Pelosi is still trying to find a place for New Energy to plug in. All that's at stake is the future. (click to enlarge)

WHEN
- The rumors have Speaker Pelosi bringing the legislation back this week.
- Exxon-Mobil Corp., the world’s biggest non-state oil company in early February announced the highest-ever profit for a U.S. company in its 2007 4th quarter. ($11.66 billion)

WHERE
The rumors have Pelosi bypassing committees and bringing the legislation directly to the House floor.

WHY
- According to the aides, Speaker Pelosi wants to bring back both the New Energy incentives and the plan to shift subsidies away from big energy companies to fund them.
- Pelosi expects the House debate would emphasize the public’s resentment of near-record high oil prices and oil companies’ record-setting profits.
- The 2007 House energy bill would have repealed the Section 199 tax deduction for major integrated oil companies (freeing $10 billion over 10 years), dropped foreign income tax deductions for overseas oil and natural gas producers (freeing another $3.19 billion) and ended tax write-offs for exploration expenses ( freeing $4.1 billion over 7 years).

Will there be New Energy in the House this week? (click to enlarge)

QUOTES
Unnamed Democratic aide: "House Democratic leadership is considering placing an energy tax package on the House floor next week…"