A comprehensive energy bill that includes repealing the ban on crude oil exports and would expedite the export of liquefied natural gas passed the House Thursday morning.
The North American Energy Security and Infrastructure Act passed the House 249-174. Proponents say the legislation would modernize energy infrastructure, protect the electrical system, strengthen energy security and improve efficiency in the country’s energy sector.
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., praised the legislation as a “far-reaching bill” that allows “our energy to power America’s success in the 21st century.”
“Though new advances in technology have paved the way for America’s ascendance as the top oil and gas producer in the world, we are neither transporting nor using that energy effectively,” McCarthy said, adding that the bill would address many of those concerns.
The bill now moves to the Senate, where it will sit under a veto threat from President Obama. The White House said earlier this week Obama would veto the legislation if it came to his desk.
House debate over the bill ended with a large number of amendments getting attached to the bill. One of them was a repeal of the 40-year-old ban on crude oil exports, pushed with bipartisan support by Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton.
A standalone bill repealing the ban passed the House earlier this year and is being considered by the Senate.
Other amendments include provisions for the Department of Energy to study the maximum level of volatility for oil to be shipped safely by rail, the creation of a permitting process through government agencies for cross-border energy infrastructure projects, and allowing community solar power projects to be connected to the power grid.
McCarthy said the amendments improved the bill.
“We need infrastructure that can move the energy we have to where it needs to be. We need improved electrical grid security to keep power flowing stably to our homes and businesses,” he said. “We need to use our great energy abundance to help our allies who currently rely on power from foreign aggressors by lifting the oil export ban and speeding the review of natural gas export permits.”
Louis Finkel, the executive vice president for government affairs at the American Petroleum Institute, praised the bill as a “major update” to the nation’s energy policy and the first comprehensive energy bill since 2007.
Finkel said the legislation would be crucial to expanding American power in the energy sector, especially repealing the oil export ban, which has the strong support of the fossil fuel industry.
“It’s ironic that at a time when tens of thousands of American workers are losing their jobs in the oil and natural gas industry, that the U.S. would strike a deal to allow Iranian crude onto the global market,” Finkel said. “This makes no sense, we need to give the same opportunity to American producers and create more American jobs.”
Meanwhile, environmental groups are disappointed the legislation will not, in their view, address the problems created by climate change.
Sierra Club Legislative Director Melinda Pierce said she was disappointed to see House Republicans “double down” on fossil fuels while the world is meeting in Paris for climate change talks.
One proposed amendment, which was ultimately defeated, would have postponed voting on the bill until the Energy Information Administration could study the impact the bill would have on climate change. Pierce said the legislation, as passed by the House, shows Congress isn’t serious about tackling climate change.
“The grab bag of polluter priorities in this bill does nothing for the American people, who are excited about the our booming clean energy economy driven by solar and wind,” she said. “Congress needs to get serious about recognizing that the world is acting on climate and clean energy. A great start to those efforts here at home would be passing an extension of critical clean energy tax incentives before leaving Washington for the holidays, so clean energy workers are not left out in the cold.”
