House Democrats push ahead with SDWA reforms, PFAS regulations JM Eagle
Table Of Content
On July 31, 2023, Chair Rodgers and former Subcommittee on Environment, Manufacturing, and Critical Materials Chair Bill Johnson (R-OH) sent a letter calling on the EPA to extend the comment period for their new CPP2.0 proposal. On November 7, 2023, Chair Rodgers, Subcommittee on Energy, Climate, and Grid Security Chair Jeff Duncan (R-SC), and former Subcommittee Chair Johnson sent a letter to Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on how new EPA regulations, including CPP2.0, would be detrimental to the U.S. electric grid. On November 14, 2023, Chair Rodgers, Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Chair Morgan Griffith (R-VA), and former Subcommittee Chair Johnson sent a letter calling on EPA Administrator Michael Regan to withdraw the overreaching and unworkable CPP2.0 proposal. Change Healthcare, which was acquired by UnitedHealth Group’s Optum subsidiary in 2022, is one of the nation’s largest providers of health care payment management systems. On February 21, UnitedHealth Group reported it had experienced a cyberattack on its platforms, and it had taken all Change Healthcare systems offline to contain the incident.
Fuels and Transportation Division
The bill establishes the Division of Petroleum Market Oversight within the energy commission. The division will have the power to subpoena records from the oil industry and refer violations to the California attorney general for prosecution. Instead of a cap approved by lawmakers, SBX1-2 allows the energy commission to establish a maximum gross gasoline refining margin and a penalty for exceeding that margin, if they deem it necessary.
Divisions and Offices
Looking ahead, the House Energy and Commerce Committee has a crucial role to play in shaping America’s energy future. By fostering collaboration between industry stakeholders, policymakers, and environmental advocates, the committee can develop visionary solutions that balance the essentials of economic prosperity, environmental sustainability, and energy security. We need to focus on bolstering the capacity and resiliency of our energy grid to accommodate a diverse array of energy sources, including renewables, natural gas, and nuclear power. In 2023 alone, the United States cut emissions by 3%, outpacing many other nations including China. Our efforts in oil and gas production have also set global standards for cleanliness, demonstrating our commitment to responsible environmental stewardship while ensuring energy security. Additionally, the lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions of U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) are approximately 40% lower than the gas supplied by Russia, the second largest exporter of LNG.
Assistance with Federal Government Agencies (Casework)
“This bill is a senseless attack on domestic energy production that will only harm hardworking Californians in the field by creating a hostile business climate,” said Assemblymember Vince Fong (R-Bakersfield). California lawmakers on Monday approved Gov. Gavin Newsom’s legislation to increase transparency in the oil industry, ending a special session he called last year to penalize excessive profits. Oil and gas producers in the U.S. work daily to make energy clean, reliable, and affordable for Americans and people in the unempowered world. The Biden administration’s January decision to ban new permits for LNG export facilities will raise costs in the U.S. and prevent us from supplying our allies and those in the developing world. This legislation, which was passed out of Committee and advanced to the House Floor, would reform the licensing process to protect existing hydropower resources and remove barriers to rapidly expand hydropower development.
Chairs Rodgers and Latta Announce Hearing on the Future of Section 230 - Energy and Commerce Committee
Chairs Rodgers and Latta Announce Hearing on the Future of Section 230.
Posted: Thu, 04 Apr 2024 07:00:00 GMT [source]
The legislation will require oil companies to provide the state with more information around planned maintenance, which could make it easier to avoid having several refineries go offline at the same time, drastically reducing supply. Proponents also argue that giving the California Energy Commission the ability to set a profits penalty could motivate companies to keep prices down. The bill prohibits commissioners from setting a penalty if they find that it will have adverse consequences on Californians and increase gas prices.
Businesses and government need to work together to address the problem and that requires policies that are practical, flexible, predictable, and durable. The new corporate disclosure laws require businesses to report on emissions across their supply chain, including indirect emissions, no matter where they occur despite the fact that such emissions can be nearly impossible for a company to accurately calculate. The laws also require companies to subjectively report their worldwide climate-related financial risks and proposed mitigation strategies. The laws apply to companies across the U.S. and worldwide on the basis of even minimal operations in the state of California, thus attempting to impose essentially a national standard. Environmental groups and consumer advocates, such as Consumer Watchdog and the Center for Biological Diversity, have continued to support the policy despite the changes. Many argue that the legislation goes further to hold the industry accountable for pricing than existing law, even without a mandatory cap on profits.
Before setting a cap and penalty, the commission must find that benefits of doing so outweigh potential costs to consumers. California lawmakers held a hearing to consider a penalty on oil companies after the industry posted record profits at a time when drivers paid the highest gas prices in the nation. After months of deliberation, the final bill does not cap oil refinery profits or penalize the industry as Newsom had intended when he accused companies of intentionally driving up gas prices to boost revenue. Instead, the bill, SBX1-2, gives the California Energy Commission the power to set a cap and impose penalties through a regulatory process if it decides that oil companies are making excessive profits and that a penalty will not result in higher prices for consumers.
The industry had urged the state to take more time to understand the bill’s potential effects on supply. Several were careful to point out that the legislation prohibits regulators from imposing any limit on profits that could drive up gas prices, underscoring concerns about potential unintended consequences of capping the industry’s earnings. The legislation focuses on transparency, including requiring the industry to provide more information about maintenance and pricing decisions in order to allow state officials to better understand the market and deter companies from gouging consumers. As we have seen especially in recent months an over-reliance on electric vehicles is not what this country needs or even wants. In fact, the scheme to flood the industry with electric vehicles is playing right into the Chinese Communist Party’s hands and plans to establish a greater world dominance. China controls many key aspects of the supply chain, and American providers struggle to keep up with the lower prices from our adversary and rival from the other side of the world.
The Committee’s classified hearing with members of the intelligence community, including the Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigations, and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence made clear the dangers posed by applications that are controlled by foreign adversaries and the need to take action. In 1819, the committee's name was changed to the Committee on Commerce, reflecting the creation of a separate Manufacturers Committee and also the increasing scope of and complexity of American commercial activity, which was expanding the committee's jurisdiction from navigational aids and the nascent general health service to foreign trade and tariffs. Thomas J. Bliley, who chaired the committee from 1995 to 2000, chose to use this traditional name, which underscores the committee's role for Congress on this front.
District Court for the Central District of California over its new corporate climate disclosure laws, which were signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Oct. 7, 2023. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and several business groups filed a lawsuit against the state of California over its corporate climate disclosure laws. At Gov. Gavin Newsom’s urging, California lawmakers are expected to begin a special session Monday to consider a penalty on oil profits in response to high gas prices. “I know that legislators do not want the answer ‘We need more investigation,’ but the fact is shooting first and then finding out if it’s the right solution is going to likely be just as detrimental as helpful,” Severin Borenstein, director of the Energy Institute at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, told lawmakers at the time.
Opponents of LNG exports often cite environmental concerns, but the reality is that American natural gas is among the cleanest and most efficient energy sources available. Technological advancements have enabled significant reductions in emissions intensity, with producers leading the way in implementing innovative solutions to minimize environmental impact. We must continue to incentivize emissions reductions through technologies like LNG, not pit one energy source against another. It’s strengthened our energy grid and lowered energy costs for families and businesses—all while reducing carbon emissions.
These policies undermine American energy security by forcing states to fundamentally change how they generate electricity. At a time when more than half the nation is at elevated risk of forced blackouts, the administration’s unrelenting rush-to-green agenda is shutting down the types of generation needed to keep the lights on and raising costs across the board. On June 6, 2023, Chair Rodgers led a letter to EPA from all Energy and Commerce Republicans on the agency’s CPP2.0.
Comments
Post a Comment