Author(s): Rob Mosher Author(s): Nicole Steele
Transportation Reauthorization Approved
After months of intense negotiations, on June 29th Congress cleared a bill (H.R. 4348) that will ensure funding for highway and mass transit projects for the next 27 months. The measure has been presented to President Barack Obama for his expected signature into law. Policymakers acted a day before the existing programs were due to expire. Specifically, the Transportation Reauthorization spending bill would maintain current spending levels through Sept. 2014, or $94.3 billion for fiscal years 2013 and 2014 combined. Just weeks ago, the measure's prospects were dim. Efforts in a Republican-led House of Representatives to pass a transportation bill fell apart earlier in 2012, and it refused to consider the legislation Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21) (S. 1813) passed by the Democratic-led Senate in 2011. The conference agreement came together as the House dropped demands that an approval of the TransCanada Corporation's Keystone XL oil pipeline to the U.S. Gulf Coast be included in the bill. The Senate agreed to policies that would quicken the approval processes for highway and bridge projects. H.R. 4348 compromises on bicycle and pedestrian funding language. The measure will direct half of the transportation alternatives resources, which can apply to select other programs, to the local level, with the rest going to the states. States do have the ability to opt out of the funding requirement. The conference agreement also does NOT contain a Senate-passed amendment that would have restored a mass transit tax benefit to the same level as parking.
Energy & Water Appropriations
Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy (EERE) Program funding The House markup of the FY 2013 Energy & Water Appropriations spending measure (H.R. 5325) requested significant cuts to critical EERE programs. Going forward, the energy efficiency community will be urging appropriators to accede to the Senate allocations for EERE programs. Lighting Efficiency Standards A provision was once again included in the House Energy & Water Appropriations markup that would bar DOE from enforcing the lighting efficiency standards, which went into effect earlier this year. While the full Senate has not taken up its bill, lighting standards advocates will continue garnering support for lighting efficiency standards in case such an amendment is offered during the floor debate.
Shaheen-Portman Bill
An Alliance to Save Energy press conference was held last month with Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Rob Portman (R-Ohio) joining a diverse group of business and environmental leaders in calling for a timely Senate floor vote on S. 1000. Alliance President Kateri Callahan participated in an interview with E&E News TV in June regarding Shaheen-Portman as well. The Alliance sent out another advocacy alert urging their senators to support bringing the bill to the floor for a vote.
Farm Bill Passes Senate
On June 21, the five-year installment of the 2012 Farm Bill (S. 3240) passed the Senate with a bipartisan majority of 64-35. The Senate bill contains two major energy efficiency provisions, the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) and the Rural Energy Savings Program Act (RESPA) of 2012. The House Agriculture Committee continues work on its version. The current law is scheduled to expire at the end of September 2012.
