The House earlier this month passed a comprehensive energy bill that has few provisions in common with the bill the Senate passed in June, and chances of a House Senate compromise are unclear, sources say. Lawmakers will meet over the next several weeks to work out some of their differences before Congress reconvenes in September. Fuel economy standards will be central to the House Senate debate, lawmakers say. The House bill does not propose increasing Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards, but the Senate s version would increase CAFE to 35 miles per gallon (mpg) by 2020, from the current 27.5 mpg. The House bill would also require utilities to produce 15% of their electricity from renewable sources, a measure the Senate bill had omitted. One of the few issues the two chambers agreed on were energy efficiency standards for appliances and lighting. Among chemical makers biggest concerns is an associated tax package passed by the House that would offset the costs of alternative energy tax incentives by eliminating an estimated $16 billion in existing oil and gas industry tax benefits, ACC says. ACC worries that such a new level of taxes on the industry that supplies feedstocks to ACC member companies will increase costs of supplies already inflated by worldwide demand. ACC also criticized House lawmakers for passing the associated tax bill that would make significant structural changes to the tax law with little discussion and without hearings. President Bush has said he would veto the House energy and tax bills because they do not create more energy security, but rather would lead to less domestic oil and gas production, higher energy costs, and higher taxes. Representative Ed Markey (D., MA) praised the House bill, and vowed to continue his push to have an increase in CAFE standards included in any final bill. I am pleased that the House passed a strong renewable electricity standard, Markey says. Right now, 2.3% of the electricity we use in this country comes from non-hydro renewable sources. Requiring more clean, renewable energy is a necessary and effective response to the urgency of our global warming and energy dependence problems, he says. We must continue that fight this fall, passing comprehensive global warming legislation that will cap emissions and reduce them by 80% or more by 2050, he adds.
