Waxman and Markey's "Discussion Draft"

Henry Waxman, the chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and Ed Markey, chair of the Energy and Environment subcommittee, have just released a “discussion draft” of a comprehensive clean energy and climate change bill.  The legislation is titled “The American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009.”  (Security is such a reassuring word, particularly in the post-Sept. 11 world, don’t you think?)  We are on track – perhaps well ahead – to deliver this baby to the full House by Memorial Day.

The committee press release describes the draft’s four titles:

• A clean energy title that promotes renewable sources of energy, carbon capture and sequestration technologies, low-carbon fuels, clean electric vehicles, and the smart grid and electricity transmission;
• An energy efficiency title that increases energy efficiency across all sectors of the economy, including buildings, appliances, transportation, and industry;
• A global warming title that places limits on emissions of heat-trapping pollutants; and
• A transitioning title that protects U.S. consumers and industry and promotes green jobs during the transition to a clean energy economy.

Greenwire, in an excellent summary via the “NY Times” reports here that a few issues are left open.  For one thing, how pollution allowances will be distributed – by auction, presumably, but with what percentage free to industry – is to be resolved in discussion and debate.  Another open question is how the revenue from the allowances is to be distributed.  President Obama reckoned there would be $646 billion to spend with the lion’s share going back to the public in various ways.

Two sops to the Cerberus of heavy industry, the utilities, and the coal, oil and gas folks, are $10 billion for CCS R&D and “trade sanctions against countries that do not impose controls on carbon emissions by levying tariffs on certain goods from those countries.”  (See China and Trade here for a sense of the fur that will fly if we impose an import tax on GHG-intensive goods.  Yeehaw.)  Another interesting note is the explicit barring of EPA from regulating GHG under the Clean Air Act.  (See “Endangerment” here.)

Markey said:  “This legislation will create clean energy jobs that can’t be shipped overseas, reduce our dependence on foreign oil, and make America the global leader in energy technology. We will create jobs by the millions, save money by the billions, and unleash energy investment by the trillions.”  Is that all?

This legislation is going to be one of the keystones of Waxman’s distinguished career.  Ever since he putsched John Dingell in November and assumed the committee chairmanship, he’s been focusing staff, key members, like Markey, and himself on bringing this legislation into being.   Let’s see how this thing shapes up through the full committee markup, scheduled now for the week of May 11.  Definitely stay tuned!