Omnibus Energy Legislation: Comparison of Non-Tax Provisions in the H.R. 6 Conference Report and S. 2095 (CRS Report for Congress)
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| Release Date |
Feb. 23, 2004 |
| Report Number |
RL32204 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
Mark Holt and Carol Glover, Resources, Science, and Industry Division |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
Summary:
House and Senate conferees approved an omnibus energy bill ( H.R. 6 , H.Rept. 108-375 )
on November 17, 2003, and the House approved the measure the following day (246-180). However,
on November 21, 2003, a cloture motion to limit Senate debate on the conference report failed
(57-40). On February 12, 2004, Senator Domenici introduced a revised version of the bill
( S. 2095 ) with a lower estimated cost and without a controversial provision on the fuel
additive MTBE. Major non-tax provisions in the conference measure and S. 2095
include:
Ethanol. An increase in ethanol production to 3.1 billion gallons annually by 2005 and
5 billion
gallons by 2012 would be mandated. However, states could petition for a waiver if the mandate
would have severe economic or environmental repercussions, other than loss of revenue to the
highway trust fund.
MTBE. Methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE), a gasoline additive widely used to meet
Clean Air
Act requirements, has caused water contamination. The conference bill would ban the use of MTBE
by 2015 with some possible exceptions, provide funds for MTBE cleanup, and provide protection
for fuel producers and blenders of renewable fuels and MTBE from defective product lawsuits. The
liability protection was not included in S. 2095 .
Electricity. In part, the electricity section would repeal the Public Utility Holding
Company Act
(PUHCA) and establish mandatory standards for interstate transmission. Standard market design
(SMD) would be remanded to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC); no rule would
be allowed before the end of FY2006.
Alaska Gas Pipeline. The bill would provide $18 billion in loan guarantees for
construction of
a natural gas pipeline from Alaska to Alberta, where it would connect to the existing midwestern
pipeline system.
Energy Efficiency Standards. New statutory efficiency standards would be established
for
several consumer and commercial products and appliances. For certain other products and
appliances, DOE would be empowered to set new standards. For motor vehicles, funding would be
authorized for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to set Corporate
Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) levels as provided in current law.
Energy Production on Federal Lands. Royalty reductions would be provided for
marginal oil
and gas wells on federal lands and the outer continental shelf. Provisions are also included to
increase access by energy projects to federal lands.
For a discussion of the tax provisions in the bills, see CRS Issue Brief IB10054, Energy Tax
Policy . This report will not be updated.
