AFI Energy and Transportation Committee
This letter was sent to: House Leadership; House Ways and Means Committee; House Energy and Commerce Committee; Senate Leadership; Senate Finance Committee; and Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.
July 3, 2001
The Honorable Thomas Daschle
Senate Majority Leader
S-221 U.S. Capitol
Washington, DC 20510-4103
Dear Majority Leader Daschle:
Attached to this letter is the National Conference of State Legislatures' (NCSL) response to the recently issued Report of the President's National Energy Policy Development Group, as well as a copy of NCSL's own National Energy Policy. NCSL is the only national organization of state or local government elected officials that has a current National Energy Policy. This enables us to work with Congress on energy legislation and analyze and make recommendations regarding the administration's proposal. Over the past year, NCSL's Energy and Transportation Committee and Environment Committee updated the organization's National Energy Policy. The NCSL Committee membership consists of state legislators from across the country and both political parties. Therefore, you can trust that it represents a bipartisan, balanced and topical approach to national energy issues facing the U.S. The policy was initially approved without opposition at our December 2000 meeting.
NCSL's primary positions on the administration's energy proposal are as follows:
- NCSL supports the recommendation that the President strengthen LIHEAP by increasing the appropriation to as much as $3.4 billion as proposed in S.352 and H.R.683. However, we oppose the transfer of funds from State Energy Programs and Weatherization to supplement LIHEAP. We believe all of these programs are critically important at this time and none should benefit at the expense of the others;
- NCSL supports the recommendation to increase funding for the Weatherization Assistance Program by $1.2 billion over ten years;
- NCSL strongly supports the recommendation to expand the Energy Star Program to increase energy efficiency;
- NCSL conditionally supports the FY2002 budget amendment for USDOE that would provide $39.2 million in increased support for renewable energy R&D, however, we were concerned about the overall decreases to renewable energy and energy efficiency programs in the administration's initial proposed USDOE budget. We support the recent vote of the House Appropriations Committee to restore most of those funding levels and would support reasonable increases to energy efficiency and renewable energy programs;
- NCSL commends the President for extending the present 1.7 cents per kilowatt hour tax credit for electricity produced from wind and biomass and supports a recommended new tax credit for solar energy;
- NCSL urges the President and Congress to strengthen and improve CAFE standards for all automobiles and light duty trucks, including sport utility vehicles and minivans;
- NCSL supports the recommendation that the president work with Congress to draft legislation to provide a tax credit for fuel efficient vehicles;
- NCSL supports the recommendation that the President promote enhanced oil and gas recovery from existing wells through new technology. In its own policy, NCSL supports improving gas and oil exploration technology through continued partnerships with public and private entities. NCSL urges that state legislatures be included in those partnerships;
- NCSL supports the recommendation for increased support of clean coal technology research and development;
- NCSL conditionally supports the recommendation that nuclear energy be a component of a national energy policy - assuming concerns regarding plant safety and the transportation, storage and disposal of nuclear waste can be resolved;
- NCSL supports the recommendation that the President encourage FERC to use its existing authority to promote competition and encourage investment in transmission facilities - provided such authority is exercised at the wholesale level only;
- NCSL strongly opposes any expansion of FERC authority to include intrastate transmission jurisdiction. We also oppose the creation of federal eminent domain power for electric transmission line siting. The land use impact of above ground transmission lines and power generation plants is unlike the limited impact of underground pipelines and must remain governed by state land use regulation;
- NCSL supports the recommendation for legislation to improve the safety of natural gas pipelines, and we urge that states should have a more prominent role in regulating pipeline safety in partnership with the federal government.
- NCSL supports the President's budget proposal of $8 million to maintain the Northeast Heating Oil Reserve; and
- NCSL supports the recommendation that the President work with state organizations to address energy problems, however, we are critical of the fact that the proposal identifies only the National Governors' Association as a group with which the administration proposes to work.
We are eager to meet with you to discuss energy concerns critical to states and the federal government that should be addressed in legislation. We hope you find the enclosed analysis and policy helpful and look forward to discussing it with you and your staff. We would be happy to provide testimony at any relevant hearings or to meet with you privately if you would prefer. Should you have questions about either document or require further information, please contact Eileen Doherty, Committee Director, Energy and Transportation at (202) 624-8687 or eileen.doherty@ncsl.org.
Sincerely,
Clifton Below
New Hampshire Senate
Chair, NCSL AFI Energy and Transportation Committee
|
