All,

The next meeting of the Conference on H.R. 6, the energy bill, will be Thursday, July 21, at 1:00 p.m. in Room 2123 Rayburn. The conferees will then mark-up Electricity, Indian Energy, Coal Leasing and portions of the Renewables titles as well as portions of the Vehicles and Fuels title that deliberately weren’t addressed today because House conferees from the Transportation Committee were tied up in the highway bill conference. Amendments for Thursday’s conference will be circulated to conferees tomorrow.

Conferees today adopted the Nuclear, DOE Management, Personnel and Training, Energy Efficiency, Vehicles and Fuels and Coal titles as amended. Below is a summary of today’s conference:

ENERGY EFFICIENCY:

The conference accepted the following amendments to the agreed-upon text in the Energy Efficiency Title:

An amendment by Rep. Markey requiring DOE to submit a report to Congress when it fails to issue new efficiency standards in a timely fashion. The report must include an action plan for issuing the standards. House conferees then Senate conferees accepted the amendment by voice vote.

The following amendments to the Energy Efficiency Title were approved by the House, Senate vote is pending:

An amendment by Rep. Hall making changes to the Energy and Policy Conservation Act that result in overturning a federal circuit court ruling. House conferees adopted the amendment by voice vote. Chairman Domenici deferred consideration on behalf of Senate conferees until staff can review the implications of the amendment.

An amendment by Rep. Hall removes Senate language in the base text that would allow DOE to set efficiency standard for the fans contained in furnaces. House accepted on voice vote. Chairman Domenici deferred consideration until the Senate staff could review text.

Senators reserved the right to offer amendments to the Energy Efficiency title on the following issues:

Sen. Dorgan reserved the right to offer an oil savings amendment the next conference meeting depending on the outcome of current and staff and member negotiations. Sen. Bingaman reserved a similar option to address Daylight Savings Time in the next meeting.

The following amendments to the Energy Efficiency Title were rejected:

An amendment by Rep. Sam Johnson changing the authorized sum for LIHEAP from $5.1 billion to $3.1 billion.  House rejected by voice vote. It was not proffered to the Senate.

NUCLEAR MATTERS:

The conference accepted the following amendments to the agreed-upon text in the Nuclear Matters Title:

Sen. Murkowski offered an amendment that allows the NRC to offer grants and loans, cooperative agreements and contracts as recruitment to U.S. universities to encourage students to enroll in nuclear safety, nuclear security and environmental protection programs in addition to other programs the NRC may deem to critical to U.S. nuclear programs. The Senate accepted by voice vote. The amendment was proffered to the House and accepted by the Chairman.

Rep. Markey offered an amendment requiring the NRC to conduct security response evaluations at licensed nuclear facilities once every three years. The House and Senate each accepted by voice vote.

The conference rejected the following amendments to the Nuclear Matters Title:

Sen. Thomas offered an amendment that mirrors Sec. 630 of the House bill. It creates cooperative R&D and special demonstration programs for the uranium mining industry and authorizes $10 million for each of fiscal years 06, 07 and 08. Uranium mining interests in New Mexico are excluded from qualifying for the program. The amendment failed on the Senate side by a roll call vote of 7-7. It was not proffered to the House.

Sen. Wyden offered a medical isotopes amendment that restored language from the Senate bill to the agreed-upon title. The amendment failed on the Senate side by a roll call vote of 4-10. It was not proffered to the House.

Rep. Markey offered an amendment to Atomic Energy Act of 1954 that would have prohibited the U.S.-India agreement announced yesterday by President Bush by prohibiting such an agreement with a nation that is not a member of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons” and has detonated a nuclear device. The House accepted the amendment by voice vote and proffered it to the Senate. The Senate rejected the amendment by voice vote.

Rep. Markey offered an amendment that would prohibit India and Russia from working on the Gen. IV project by prohibiting participation by nations not members of the Nuclear Suppliers Group or nations with whom the United States does not have an Agreement for Nuclear Cooperation. The House rejected the amendment by voice vote.

Rep. Markey offered an amendment that would require the NRC to notify the public of closed-door meetings within 15 days of such meetings taking place and make a transcript of those meetings available when appropriate. The House rejected the amendment by voice vote.

Rep. Markey offered an amendment that would have changed the whistleblower language in the title to give DOE 180 days to respond to a complaint rather than 1 year. The House rejected by voice vote.

Rep. Markey offered an amendment requiring the DOE Secretary to conduct a study of health impacts on persons living near nuclear facilities. The House rejected the amendment 5-6.

The following amendment was offered and withdrawn:

Rep. Wynn offered an amendment to place two hydrogen co-location facilities next to existing nuclear plants to generate hydrogen. The bill currently has agreed-upon language that requires the DOE Secretary to do an economic feasibility analysis before proceeding with such a program. Mr. Barton suggested the language was a good compromise that it be left alone. Mr. Wynn then withdrew the amendment.

VEHICLES AND FUELS:

The conference accepted the following amendments to the agreed-upon text in the Vehicles and Fuels Title:

Rep. Shimkus offered an amendment to existing law that says duel-fuel vehicles can only qualify for fuel economy incentives if a label is attached to the fuel compartment notifying drivers that the vehicle can be operated with gasoline and a specified alternative fuel.  The House accepted the amendment by voice vote with the qualification that Mr. Dingle’s staff can make technical fixes. The Senate accepted with the same qualification. 

Rep. Hall offered an amendment to Sec. 707 – the provision concerning compliance with Alternative Fueled Vehicle Purchasing Requirements  – that amends to the Energy Policy Act of 1992 to allow vehicles used in emergency repair of transmission lines and restoration of electrical service to qualify for the emergency exemption. This exemption was in Senate bill but was inadvertently left out of the base text. The House and Senate each accepted by voice vote.

The conference rejected the following amendments to the Vehicles and Fuels Title:

Rep. Markey offered an amendment that would increase the CAFÉ standards for autos and light trucks by 1 mile per year for each of the next 10 year. The House rejected the amendment 3-11.

Rep. Wyden offered an amendment that would increase the CAFÉ standards for autos and light trucks by 1 mile per year for each of the next five years. The Senate rejected the amendment 2-2.