House Apporves New Oil Company Taxes

H. JOSEF HEBERT, August 5, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) - Declaring a new direction in energy policy, the House on Saturday approved $16 billion in taxes on oil companies, while providing billions of dollars in tax breaks and incentives for renewable energy and conservation efforts.

Republican opponents said the legislation ignored the need to produce more domestic oil, natural gas and coal. One GOP lawmaker bemoaned ``the pure venom ... against the oil and gas industry.''

The House passed the tax provisions by a vote of 221-189. Earlier it had approved, 241-172, a companion energy package aimed at boosting energy efficiency and expanding use of biofuels, wind power and other renewable energy sources.

``We are turning to the future,'' said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

The two bills, passed at an unusual Saturday session as lawmakers prepared to leave town for their monthlong summer recess, will be merged with legislation passed by the Senate in June.

On one of the most contentious and heavily lobbied issues, the House voted to require investor-owned electric utilities nationwide to generate at least 15 percent of their electricity from renewable energy sources such as wind or biofuels.

The utilities and business interests had argued aggressively against the federal renewables mandate, saying it would raise electricity prices in regions of the country that do not have abundant wind energy. But environmentalists said the requirement will spur investments in renewable fuels and help address global warming as utilities use less coal.

``This will save consumers money,'' said Rep. Tom Udall, D-N.M., the provision's co-sponsor, maintaining utilities will have to use less high-priced natural gas. He noted that nearly half the states already have a renewable energy mandate for utilities, and if utilities can't find enough renewable they can meet part of the requirement through power conservation measures.

The bill also calls for more stringent energy efficiency standards for appliances and lighting and incentives for building more energy-efficient ``green'' buildings. It would authorize special bonds for cities and counties to reduce energy demand.

Pelosi, D-Calif., said it was essential to commit to renewable energy while reducing reliance on fossil fuels. Doing so, she said, will help address global warming and make the country more energy-independent.

``It's about our children, about our future, the world in which they live,'' Pelosi said.

Democrats avoided a nasty fight by ignoring - at least for the time being - calls for automakers to make vehicles more fuel-efficient. Cars, sport utility vehicles and small trucks use most of the country's oil and produce almost one-third of the carbon dioxide emissions linked to global warming.

That issue, as well as whether to require huge increases in the use of corn-based ethanol as a substitute for gasoline, were left to be thrashed out when the House bill is merged with energy legislation the Senate passed in June.

Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland said he was confident the final bill that will go to President Bush will contain a significant increase in automobile fuel economy requirements.

``This is a historic turn away from a fossil fuel agenda toward renewable energy. It's been a long time in coming,'' said Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., in an interview. Markey abandoned efforts to get an auto mileage provision into the bill, but also expressed confidence one will be added during negotiations with the Senate. The Senate in passing energy legislation in June called for a 40 percent increase auto mileage to 35 mpg by 2020.

Republicans said the House bill did nothing to increase domestic oil and natural gas production or take further advantage of coal, the country's most abundant domestic energy resource.

``There's a war going on against energy from fossil fuels,'' said Rep. Ralph Hall, R-Texas. ``I can't understand the pure venom felt against the oil and gas industry.''

Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, said the bill was ``a political exercise'' to promote ``pet projects, ... pet ideas.'' He predicted it ``isn't going anywhere'' because President Bush will veto it if it gets to his desk.

The White House indicated President Bush might veto the bill if he gets it saying it makes ``no serious attempts to increase our energy security or address high energy costs'' and would harm domestic oil and gas production.

The bill would repeal for oil companies a tax breaks given in 2004 to help domestic manufacturers compete against foreign companies, and another tax break pertaining to income from foreign oil production. Critics of the two tax provisions called them loopholes that the industry had taken advantage of.

The House-passed bill also includes an array of loan guarantees, federal grants and tax breaks for alternative energy programs. They include building biomass factories, research into making ethanol from wood chips and prairie grasses and producing better batteries for hybrid gas-electric automobiles.

The legislation would end a tax break for buying large SUVs, known as the ``Hummer tax loophole'' because it allows people who buy some of the most expensive SUVs to write off much of the cost.

Giuliani Says His Energy Plan Would Aid Planet, Fight Terror

JOSH GERSTEIN, July 24, 2007, The New York Sun

SAN FRANCISCO — Mayor Giuliani is promising that his plan to wean America from foreign oil would aid the planet and curtail funding for terrorism, though some of his energy-related prescriptions could be a tough sell for environmentally conscious California voters.

"This is not just good for the reduction of global warming, pollution, the domestic economy, national security. It is absolutely necessary in defeating the terrorists," Mr. Giuliani told an audience of about 125 supporters gathered at a hotel here yesterday afternoon.

Ending America's dependence on energy from abroad "would be a major factor in our being able to defuse dramatically the reach and the power of Islamic terrorism," the former mayor said.

To supplant oil imports, Mr. Giuliani called for increased use of ethanol, so-called clean coal technology, nuclear, hydroelectric, solar, and wind-generated power.

While Mr. Giuliani is also touting himself as a tax and budget cutter, he said he had no compunction about implementing widespread subsidies for alternative fuels.

"The government has to organize a program like the government organized putting a man on the moon," he said. "We do it by supporting everything. … This is not just a private enterprise."

Mr. Giuliani acknowledged that many of his proposals were not unique or original. "Most people will agree with most of it," he said. "Who's going to get it done for you? … A lot of people have talked about energy independence, including some pretty good presidents. I will do it."

Still, some of the measures he touted, such the building of new nuclear power plants, seemed certain to face resistance. Mr. Giuliani suggested that the safety concerns were overblown. "We have never in this country lost a life to nuclear power, never," he said. "That says a lot."

The former mayor also said nuclear power would increase America's energy independence. "We don't have to buy it from anybody else. … We have it right here in the United States," he said.

While there are uranium mines in America, imported uranium accounts for 84% of the market here, according to the Energy Department.

Mr. Giuliani backed ending the 26-year-old moratorium on new oil drilling off America's coasts. "We have to expand the use of the oil that's within our control," he said. "In environmentally sound ways, we should take advantage of that oil."

Mr. Giuliani kicked off his 35-minute speech yesterday by challenging the Democratic presidential hopefuls debating in South Carolina last night to acknowledge the threat that America faces from what the former mayor repeatedly labeled "Islamic terrorism." "In order to lead, you have to face reality. The reality is that there are Islamic terrorists. The reality is that they are at war with us," the former mayor said.

Mr. Giuliani said that in the prior debates, none of the Democratic candidates owned up to the nature and the seriousness of the terrorist threat. "We'll see if they do it tonight. If they do, I'll take credit for it," he joked.

The former mayor also bashed the Democrats for being "defeatist," particularly when it comes to the emerging economic power of countries such as China.

"Isn't this what we always wanted, that China would come out of poverty and have some hope of coming out of political oppression?" Mr. Giuliani said. America simply needs to ask, "What to sell them? … It's not that hard. It's not brain surgery," he said.

Western companies have struggled to make a profit in the Chinese market. Some have quit the market after seeing their brand names and proprietary technology stolen with near impunity.

"This is the guy America needs, the only guy that can heal everybody," a public relations executive on hand for Mr. Giuliani's speech, Michael Levinson, 60, said. "You can't have any more Clintons or Bushes. It will be too divisive."

Mr. Levinson said Mr. Giuliani's views on social issues make him palatable to Democrats in a way the other Republican contenders are not. The p.r. man said he liked the ex-mayor's comments on energy but is supporting him mainly because of his tough persona. "We can't have any weaklings in the White House," Mr. Levinson said. Today, Mr. Giuliani's campaign is to begin airing radio ads in New Hampshire and Iowa for the first time. The spots tout his record cutting taxes, government spending, and the welfare rolls during his time as New York City's mayor between 1994 and 2001.