Summary

UCS and our activists have been busy urging our nation’s leaders to support a clean energy future for America.  On February 17, clean energy champions in the U.S. House and Senate introduced bills to establish a national Renewable Electricity Standard (RES) requiring utilities to gradually increase their use of clean energy sources such as wind and solar power.  Unfortunately, in April the House passed a harmful energy bill that would subsidize polluting industries while giving short shrift to clean energy solutions like the RES.  When the Senate Energy Committee begins to consider an energy bill in May, UCS will push for inclusion of clean energy provisions.  Meanwhile, the Bush administration proposed cutting more than half of the $23 million in clean energy funding that Congress included in the 2002 Farm Bill. UCS was successful in blocking similar cuts in previous years and we will push for full funding of the program again in 2005. 

Renewable Electricity Standard Campaign

A federal Renewable Electricity Standard (RES) would require utilities to gradually increase their use of renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, and bioenergy. Eighteen states so far have established renewable electricity standards. A federal RES has twice passed the U.S. Senate as part of a broader energy bill. The House leadership has opposed the provision.

When the House Energy and Commerce Committee resumed energy bill deliberations this winter, Representative Frank Pallone (D-NJ) offered an amendment to insert an RES into the bill. The amendment was defeated on April 12 by a margin of 30 to 17. This highlights the work we still need to do to build support for the RES in the House. UCS is working to add Republican cosponsors to an RES bill (HR 983) co-sponsored by Representatives Jim Leach (R-IA) and Tom Udall (D-NM) requiring utilities to provide 20 percent of their electricity from renewable resources by 2027. The bill currently has 22 cosponsors.

On February 17, Senator James Jeffords (I-VT) introduced the Renewable Energy Investment Act of 2005 (S. 427) in the Senate. This bill would require electric utilities to provide 20 percent of their electricity from renewable sources by 2020. Additional cosponsors include Senators Susan Collins (R-ME), Edward Kennedy (D-MA), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Richard Durbin (D-IL), Jack Reed (D-RI), John Kerry (D-MA), Christopher Dodd (D-CT), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), and Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ).

We expect Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), ranking member of the Senate Energy Committee, to call for inclusion of a more moderate 10 percent RES during his committee’s consideration of the energy bill this May. The 10 percent standard has received strong support in the Senate in the last few years. UCS will join coalition partners in pushing for inclusion of a strong RES in the Senate energy bill this year, and we will also call on our activists to help urge senators to support a clean energy future for America.

National Energy Bill

America needs an energy policy that protects our environment and national security. Unfortunately, the energy bill crafted by congressional leaders last year (H.R. 6) took us backward by funneling billions of taxpayer dollars into polluting industries, opening our public lands to oil and gas drilling, and rolling back key protections in the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act. The bill also failed to include clean energy solutions such as a renewable electricity standard (RES) that requires utilities to generate electricity from clean, renewable sources such as the wind and sun. Fortunately, the Senate refused to accept many of the provisions insisted upon by House leadership and the bill eventually died in the Senate.

Now, lawmakers are reviving that same flawed energy bill for the fifth year running. The House Energy and Commerce Committee approved the bill on April 13, and the House passed the bill, 249 to 183, on April 21. This bill is just as harmful as in previous years, with huge subsidies for polluting industries and almost no provisions to support clean energy. In particular, the House bill lacks an RES and an extension of the clean energy production tax credit is set to expire this year. When the Senate Energy Committee begins consideration of the bill in May, UCS will push for inclusion of clean energy provisions like the RES and call on senators to oppose final passage of any energy bill that fails to promote smarter, cleaner energy solutions.

See a vote count of how your representative voted on the House energy bill.

Farm Bill 

In February, the Bush administration released a fiscal year 2006 budget that proposed cutting more than half of the $23 million in renewable energy and energy efficiency funding that Congress included in the 2002 Farm Bill (H.R. 2646, sec. 9006). This reduction would hurt farmers, ranchers, and small rural businesses by limiting financial incentives for energy efficiency improvements and renewable energy systems such as wind turbines, solar panels, and biomass production equipment. At a time when many people in rural communities face economic challenges, renewable energy projects can help establish additional income for landowners, create jobs, and lower energy costs.

The Bush administration has attempted to cut funding for this program in the past, but UCS and our activists have successfully pushed for restoration of the full funding amount. To maintain full funding for the program again this year, we will need you to call on key members of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees to support the program. These members include Senators Arlen Specter (R-PA), Kit Bond (R-MO), Larry Craig (R-ID), and Sam Brownback (R-KS) and Representatives Henry Bonilla (R-TX), Tom Latham (R-IA), and Ray Lahood (R-IL).  UCS will contact you at the key moment in the debate so that you can make your voice heard.