"partnering to build better energy
efficient homes"
License # GC-052361-D
DUNS # 797 873 734
The Clean Energy Act of
2007
What the Energy Bill
Means to You
H.R.6
Title: The CLEAN Energy Act of 2007 is described as an act to
move the United States toward greater energy independence and security, to
increase the production of clean renewable fuels, to protect consumers, to
increase the efficiency of products, buildings, and vehicles, to promote
research on and deploy greenhouse gas capture and storage options, and to
improve the energy performance of the Federal Government, and for other
purposes. A summary of this legislation can be found
here.
Congress has passed the Creating
Long-Term Energy Alternatives for the Nation Act of 2007 (CLEAN Act of
2007; this legislation passed in
House of Representatives on January 18, 2007
with a vote of 264-163 and passed in the
Senate of June 21, 2007 with a vote of
65-27.
| The CLEAN Energy Act of 2007
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Supporting a Clean Energy Future
H.R. 6, the CLEAN Energy Act of 2007, represents a
critical first step toward a new energy future. By promoting clean,
renewable energy and energy efficiency, the bill would help reduce
global warming pollution and break our dangerous oil addiction. It
would also help create jobs, reduce air pollution and save Americans
billions on their energy bills. At the same time, the bill would
repeal $13 billion in subsidies benefiting the same oil companies who
are earning record profits. The bill would:
Provide $13 billion for clean, renewable
energy and energy efficiency. The bill creates a strategic
energy efficiency and renewables reserve that will be used to support
clean, renewable energy and energy efficiency incentives. The fund
could be tapped to support future legislation such as:
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Extension of Energy Efficiency Tax Incentives. These incentives
for buildings, equipment and appliances were included in the
Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct) but expire within the next two
years, too short of duration for the market to respond to them.
They must be in place for four to five years to achieve success.
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Extension of Renewable Energy Production Tax Credits. The two-year
duration of these credits is not long enough to stimulate the
market investments needed to develop a sustainable renewable
energy industry. The tax credits should be extended for five
years.
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Lift the Cap on Efficient Vehicle Tax Credits. EPAct created a
consumer tax credit for hybrid vehicles, but capped the credit at
60,000 vehicles per manufacturer. This cap should be lifted.
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Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Appropriations. America has
the world’s leading scientists and engineers who have the know-how
to solve our energy problems, but the federal government is not
providing its fair share of the resources needed to do the job.
Congress should make strategic investments to ensure that America
is the world leader in clean energy technologies.
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Repeal costly handouts to the world’s biggest
oil companies. The clean energy reserve would be funded by
repealing $13 billion in subsidies that benefit the same major oil
companies who are recording record profits at the expense of American
consumers. The bill would:
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Recover billions in unpaid royalties from offshore oil and gas
drilling. Leases issued in 1998 and 1999 mistakenly omitted limits
on royalty relief, allowing companies to drill without paying any
royalties—no matter how high the price of oil. By giving companies
a choice between voluntarily renegotiating the leases, paying a
“conservation fee” on production or being barred from bidding on
future drilling leases, the bill provides a strong incentive for
these companies to accept the market-based limits on royalty
relief that Congress always intended.
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Repeal additional royalty relief. The bill would prevent
additional future losses to the Treasury by repealing provisions
in EPAct that authorized additional forms of royalty relief.
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Repeal two tax breaks for major oil companies. The bill would
prevent major oil companies such as Exxon Mobil from claiming a
tax break for “geological and geophysical” expenditures enacted in
EPAct. It would also remove a tax benefit from the Jobs Act of
2004 that lowers the income tax rate paid by oil companies by
reclassifying oil and gas production as a manufactured good.
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