Democratic Budget Amendment on Energy (Part II)
March 14, 2006
04:30 PM
The Democratic Energy Amendment that Sen. Bingaman has offered to the Budget Resolution fulfills the commitment to secure, affordable and clean energy made in the energy bill that Congress passed last year -- a commitment that has been ignored by the Administration's budget proposal and the Budget Resolution that the Senate is now considering.
The purpose of the amendment is "to make energy more affordable and sustainable; to increase our national security through foreign oil replacement with biofuels and alternative fuels and advanced vehicle/hybrid vehicle use; to accelerate production and market penetration of clean and renewable energy technologies and generation; and to more fully utilize energy efficiency and conservation technologies and practices." Specifically, the amendment:
Fully funds, in FY07, the energy authorizations in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 by adding $3.549 billion to that function for 2007;
Adds an additional $500 million in FY07 for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program; and
Extends for four years the Renewable Energy Production Tax Credit and the companion Clean Renewable Energy Bonds program (for public power), from their current sunset of Dec. 31, 2007, to Dec. 31, 2011.
The amendment is offset by assuming the reauthorization of the Superfund taxes. The total discretionary cap adjustment for 2007 is slightly over $4 billion in budget authority. The total debt reduction is $3.2 billion over five years.
The below table shows the distribution of additional funds -- key plus-ups in the Democratic Energy Amendment for programs that got shorted in the President's Budget Request receive the largest increases, to get them to the FY2007 authorized levels in the Energy Policy Act.
Energy Security through Efficient Transportation Vehicles +$629 million
Authorized advanced vehicle deployment programs +$323 million
Accelerate hybrid vehicle technologies
Fuel cell school buses and transit buses
Biodiesel engines
Federal procurement of fuel cells
Hydrogen R&D +$268 million
Authorized vehicle energy efficiency programs +$38 million
Renewable Energy for Affordability and Energy Security +$2,818 million
4-Year Extension of Renewable Energy Production Tax Credit and
Clean Renewable Energy Bonds +$1,612 million
Production incentives for biomass cellulosic fuels - USDA +$250 million
Cellulosic biomass ethanol conversion assistance +$250 million
Renewable energy R&D (solar, wind, geothermal, biomass, hydropower) +$290 million
USDA biomass energy R&D +$206 million
Full funding for other renewable grant and rebate programs +$210 million
Energy Efficiency for Affordable Buildings and Equipment +$1,170 million
Weatherization and State energy programs +$495 million
Full funding for unfunded EPACT efficiency programs +$213 million
Accelerate energy conservation standards
State building code incentives
Appliance rebate program
Public information initiative on energy efficiency
Energy efficient public buildings
Utility efficiency pilot programs
Low-income community pilot programs
Authorized energy efficiency R&D programs +$462 million
Secure, Affordable, and Clean Energy +$1,044 million
Additional funding for Low-Income Home Energy Assistance +$500 million
Clean and advanced coal R&D +$296 million
Oil and gas R&D for domestic energy security +$64 million
Distributed electric generation programs +$135 million
Indian energy +$16 million
Nuclear energy +$33 million
