2012 Legislative Agenda

As the second session of the 112^th Congress gets under way, we wanted to provide an overview of expected federal action with respect to energy and environmental issues. The following is a brief synopsis.

President's State of the Union

In his State of the Union address, the President declared that the U.S. would pursue an "all the above" energy strategy, including:

·         Oil and Gas Production: The Administration intends to open more than 75 percent of our potential offshore oil and gas leases. The President also said his Administration would aggressively pursue development of natural gas on federal government lands while requiring companies to disclose the chemicals used in the fracking process. 

·         Clean Energy Standard: The President asked Congress to send him a Clean Energy Standard which would require increasing the use of clean energy technologies. 

·         Clean Energy Tax Breaks: The President promised to continue his push for the passage of clean energy tax credits. The production tax credits for wind and solar are at the heart of this policy near expiration.

House Committees of Jurisdiction

Energy & Commerce Committee:
 

The House Energy & Commerce Committee will continue to focus on jobs, the economy and oversight of federal agencies, particularly Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations.  The Committee will consider: 
 

·         Keystone XL Pipeline: The State Department's decision to reject the Keystone XL pipeline has been decried by Republicans, and the panel will continue to take action to reverse this position.
 

·         Oversight of Agencies:

o   The recent discord among the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) commissioners, the Department of Energy's (DOE) decision to reject the application for a nuclear waste site at Yucca Mountain, and review of the President's Blue Ribbon Commission report on nuclear energy 

o   The DOE Loan Guarantee Program

o   EPA and its Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act regulations
 

·         Gas Prices: The Committee will examine alternative fuels, such as biofuels, and the possibility of increasing pipelines in the U.S.

Natural Resources Committee:
 

The House Natural Resources Committee will focus on energy development on U.S. lands, job creation and oversight of the Department of Interior's policies. The Committee will address:
 

·         Oil and Gas Drilling: Allowing oil and gas leasing along the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts, drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and promoting shale development in the western US and the delay in issuing permits
 

·         Renewables: Streamlining the permitting process for low-impact renewables projects on federal land, and shortening the time frame for National Environmental Policy Act permits
 

·         Oversight: Hearings for the Endangered Species Act reform; Interior's five-year plan, including off-shore leasing and folding the Office of Surface Mining (OSM) into the Bureau of Land Management (BLM); OSM's Stream Buffer Zone Rule; and the Administration's recently released National Ocean Policy.

Transportation & Infrastructure Committee:
 

The Committee will focus on the surface transportation bill, which expires at the end of March. It is the primary jobs bill of 2012. The Committee will also focus on the following issues:
 

·         Rail Projects: Examining the Administration's investment in high-speed rail, with a focus on the Northeast corridor and California's development of a high-speed railway
 

·         Infrastructure Spending: Weighing the competing Republican and Democrat plans to upgrade the nation's aging water and sewer infrastructure; examining how to pay for needed ports and harbors maintenance and restoration
 

·         FEMA: Reauthorization for Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)

Science, Space & Technology:
 

The Committee spent much of last year focused on EPA regulations and is likely to keep that focus as well as oversight of appropriations for energy research and development programs.
 

The Committee will also focus on:

·         Appropriations: Advising appropriators on energy development programs, including DOE programs. Committee Republicans are vying for more funds to be given to DOE's Office of Science, and not the agency's other clean technology offices. 
 

·         Rare Earth Minerals: Decreasing reliance on other nations for rare earth minerals and for allowing more access to US supplies of minerals.
 

·         Nuclear Safety: Review of the DOE's decision to reject the application for a nuclear waste site at Yucca Mountain and review of the President's Blue Ribbon Commission report on nuclear energy. 

House and Senate Agriculture Committees:
 

The House and Senate Agriculture Committees will both focus on many of the same issues, with finishing and passing a farm bill as a top priority. The Committees plan on finishing the five-year farm bill reauthorization by May. The Committees will also focus on the following issues:
 

·         EPA Regulations: EPA's regulations regarding pesticides, nutrients and water rules, as well as EPA's cleanup of the Chesapeake Bay
 

·         Financial Reform: Oversight of regulations relating to Dodd-Frank and its impact on the Commodities Future Trading Commission and the collapse of MS Global
 

·         Food Safety: Monitoring of food safety laws from the Food and Drug Administration and the Food Safety Modernization Act

Senate Committees of Jurisdiction

Energy & Natural Resources Committee:
 

Chairman Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) plans on introducing a national clean energy standard (CES) which would require utilities to use low-carbon, clean energy sources to meet a certain percentage of their power generation. The Committee will also focus on the following issues:
 

·         Drilling: Off-shore drilling safety standards
 

·         Energy Technology Funding: Energy technology funding and the nation's competitiveness with other countries in the race to develop emerging clean technologies

Environment & Public Works Committee:
 

The Committee will focus on transportation and water infrastructure improvement bills. The Committee approved a two-year, $109-billion surface transportation bill last year, the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21), and the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA). They will consider:
 

·         Nuclear Safety: Oversee NRC policies proposed after the Japanese nuclear meltdown

Senate Commerce, Science & Transportation Committee:
 

The Committee's top priority will be consumer protection, but will likely also take up reauthorization bills, including transportation spending, hazardous materials and ocean and fishing policies. The Committee will examine:

·         Hazardous Materials: Protecting the public from hazardous materials and how to increase safety in transport of such materials