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On June 28, the Senate approved a wide-ranging energy bill, by 85 to 12 votes following similar legislation passed by the House of Representatives on April 21. Both bills will be referred to a conference committee very soon and President Bush has asked Congress to have a bill on his desk before August.
Major issues in the Energy legislation that the National Grange takes into account are:
- Renewable Fuel Supply -
The National Grange supports encouraging the use of renewable energy and favors farm producer friendly provisions the Senate energy bill contains such as:
- A requirement for refiners to produce 8 billion gallons a year of renewable fuels mostly corn-based ethanol and vegetable oil based biodiesel by 2012.
- A requirement for utilities to produce 10 percent of their electricity from renewable energy sources, such as wind and biomass from garbage or plants, by 2020.
- Extension of biodiesel tax incentive
- Oil Drilling in Alaska (the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) - The National Grange favors the exploration and production of oil reserves on the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in an environmentally sound manner. Only the House energy bill approved it while the Senate version does not include the ANWR provision.
- MTBE (Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether) Liability - The National Grange supports banning the use of MTBE in motor fuels and substituting it with ethanol, biodiesel or other alternative fuels proven to be environmentally safe. The House version protects MTBE producers against environmental lawsuits that allege the additive has contaminated drinking water supplies across the country but the Senate bill does not have such a support for MTBE. In recent years disagreement over MTBE has been a major hurdle for a final version of the energy bill.
- Mandate Reductions in the Greenhouse Gases Emissions - The National Grange supports expansion of voluntary efforts to limit greenhouse gas emissions. The Senate version came to a conclusion for voluntary limits after a controversial debate while the House rejected any attempt to address global warming issue.
Action Needed: Please contact your Members of Congress to urge them to focus on the Grange’s concerns about the current energy legislation that came out of both Houses when they work out the differences between the Senate and House.
Capitol switchboard: (202) 225-3121
For contact information of your Members, click HOUSE / SENATE
If
you have any questions or comments please contact Legislative Research Analyst
Chil-Sook Hwang by e-mail: chwang@nationalgrange.org
by fax: 202-347-1091 or by phone: 1-888-4GRANGE, ext 109. Are
you a Grange member who is interested in discussing public policy issues with
other Grange members? CLICK HERE
Thank
you for your grassroots participation in the National Grange Legislative program. |
