Daily on Energy: What to watch as the House votes on energy appropriations

Late Wednesday night, members debated the bill and its amendments, with a few provisions voice-voted in and a number postponed for a recorded vote. But for those that weren’t able to catch the hours-long debate, we’ll get you up to speed.

Debate on the bill at large: The appropriations bill has a nearly $57 billion topline that funds the Energy and Interior Departments, along with related agencies – and on Wednesday night, GOP subcommittee chairman Chuck Fleischmann touted the billions allocated towards nuclear energy, with funds set aside to beef up the National Nuclear Security Administration and domestically produce uranium.

Democrats, on the other hand, pushed back on the bill, arguing the measure doesn’t do enough to combat climate change while taxpayers are left footing the bill on disaster relief. During her floor remarks, subcommittee ranking member Marcy Kaptur raised objections to the bill cutting nuclear nonproliferation programs that aim to reduce global risk, as well as a number of controversial “poison pills.”

“I must express the Energy and Water appropriations bill before us is completely inadequate and does not meet our country’s needs in this new era of climate change,” Kaptur said.

The amendments that made it in: Several uncontroversial amendments were voice-voted en bloc and individually into the bill. The amendments en bloc would direct funding for several agencies and projects across the nation, including the Army Corps of Engineers and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Other individual amendments were able to be squeezed in through voice vote, with several hitting the Biden administration’s energy regulatory regime. Florida Republican Rep. Kat Cammack’s amendment – which would prohibit funds from being used to finalize any rules with an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more – was agreed to despite opposition from Kaptur, who called the provision a “poison pill.”

GOP Reps. Pat Fallon of Texas and Michelle Fischbach of Minnesota offered an amendment that would ban funding used to implement the Energy Department’s rule on energy conservation standards for non-weatherized gas furnaces. The DOE finalized the rule late last month. 

Amendments to be on the lookout for: The amendments and the overall bill are likely to be voted on after this newsletter is sent out. Still, here’s a rundown of the more interesting measures that could be voted into the bill later this afternoon.

Keep an eye out on several measures to defund several regional commissions that overlook the economic and environmental well-being of several states, including the Delaware River Basin Commission, the Appalachian Regional Commission, the Delta Regional Commission, Denali Commission, the Northern Border Regional Commission, the Southeast Crescent Regional Commission, and the Southwest Border Regional Commission. Many of these provisions have been offered by Reps. Scott Perry of Pennsylvania and Ralph Norman of South Carolina.

Several lawmakers are continuing to take hits at the Biden administration’s efficiency regulations. Rep. Chip Roy of Texas offered an amendment that would eliminate funding for DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. Rep. Morgan Griffith of Virginia’s amendment would reduce funds for the same program, while increasing funds for the Fossil Energy and Carbon Management program – with the aim of reaching parity between fossil fuel and renewable energy research. Perry is also striking funding for the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations.

A note: Votes are currently taking place at the time of writing. We will keep you posted on the results of the vote.

Welcome to Daily on Energy, written by Washington Examiner Energy and Environment Writers Breanne Deppisch (@breanne_dep) and Nancy Vu (@NancyVu99). Email [email protected] or [email protected] for tips, suggestions, calendar items, and anything else. If a friend sent this to you and you’d like to sign up, click here. If signing up doesn’t work, shoot us an email, and we’ll add you to our list.

RUBIO’S BUILDING CODES AMENDMENT GOES DOWN: Sen. Marco Rubio’s amendment aimed at blocking the Biden administration’s proposed energy and efficiency upgrades for certain housing failed in the Senate on Wednesday.

In a 47-51 vote, the amendment – which Rubio aimed to add to the Senate’s fiscal year 2024 “minibus” funding bill for transportation, housing, agriculture, military construction and veterans programs – failed to garner the necessary 60 votes. Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska was the sole Republican to vote against the provision.

Some background: The Biden administration in May proposed a rule requiring all new U.S. homes be constructed using the most up-to-date energy efficiency codes, passed in 2021, in order to qualify for federal loans from HUD and USDA. The proposed rule would apply to roughly one-sixth of new homes built per year, the administration estimates, and would save consumers some 35% more in energy costs compared to the previous standard passed. (That’s an average savings of $14,536 over the lifetime of a single-family home, and more than $5,000 for multifamily units.)

Rubio’s amendment would have blocked HUD and USDA from using any funds from Congress to “impose [the] updated minimum energy efficiency standards” in issuing the new loans, according to the text. We previously reported on Rubio’s amendment – check that out here. 

WHITE HOUSE FUNDING REQUEST: The White House sent over a $56 billion funding request to Congress on Wednesday to help the government respond to natural disasters, beef up funding for child care centers and invest in high-speed internet for low-income families. Within that domestic funding request, there were a few energy provisions that caught our attention.

$6 billion will be dedicated towards shoring up American energy independence and security, according to a summary of the funding requests. $2.2 billion will be allocated to the DOE to improve long-term, domestic enrichment capabilities for low-enriched uranium and high-assay low-enriched uranium. $300 million would be used for “capital improvements” to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in order to better position the U.S. to combat global oil supply disruptions.

Read the White House announcement here.  

MIKE JOHNSON … WHO? A number of senators admitted they didn’t know who the newest House Speaker was until yesterday – and that includes the top members of the Senate Energy Committee.

Committee Chairman Joe Manchin and Ranking Member John Barrasso both told Nancy they’ve both never worked with the mostly under-the-radar lawmaker – and were not familiar with Johnson’s energy policies.

“Just what I’ve read in the news in the last day,” Barrasso said in a brief interview when asked about Johnson’s energy track record.

Manchin made a note that he was “interested in meeting” with the new speaker.

We don’t blame the senators: Although Johnson hails from one of the largest oil and natural gas producing states in the country, and the majority of his industry contributions come from the sector, he doesn’t currently serve on any energy and environment-related committees that could more easily facilitate collaboration between the two chambers. In the 115th and 116th Congress, however, Johnson served on the House Natural Resources Committee.

Still, he’s getting a warm welcome from industry folks. Jeff Eshelman, president of the Independent Petroleum Association of America, congratulated the new speaker on claiming the gavel and opened the door to working on energy issues.

Eshelman said in a statement that Johnson “knows the importance of both Haynesville shale and Gulf of Mexico production to America’s energy future.”

The American Energy Alliance, which called Johnson an “Energy Champion,” expressed confidence in his leadership, stating “House Republicans will continue to identify opportunities to help us restore our energy independence” amid growing instability in the Middle East.

GENSLER PITCHES CORPORATIONS ON CLIMATE RULE: SEC chairman Gary Gensler made the case that corporations should embrace the agency’s proposed climate disclosure rule, saying at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce this morning that it would help businesses avoid a patchwork of foreign rules.

“I think for … corporate America, a rule, if we are able to finalise it, it would be best if it’s sustained in court,” Gensler said, according to Reuters.

“Maybe this is just my pitch to corporate America,” he added.

He did not win over his host, though. After the event, the Chamber’s Tom Quaadman issued a statement expressing polite disagreement, saying that the business group fears the rule “will impose costs equal to all disclosures companies already make, and, worse, that it significantly underestimates the actual compliance costs for companies”

ELON MUSK FILES AMICUS BRIEF IN SUIT TAKING ON ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGES: E&E News reports that the world’s richest man Elon Musk and other notables have signed on to an amicus brief in the Supreme Court case SEC v. Jarkesy in favor of the plaintiffs, who argue that the use of administrative law proceedings to enforce agency rules is unconstitutional.

A ruling in favor of the plaintiffs could significantly crimp agency powers, not just at the SEC but also at other agencies that use administrative law judges to adjudicate disputes, including the Interior and FERC.

“Shark Tank” investor Mark Cuban also signed the brief.

INTERIOR ADVANCES COLORADO RIVER CONSERVATION PROPOSAL: The Interior Department yesterday announced that an agreement with states on Colorado River conservation would ensure the system is stable over the next three years, The Hill reports.

The plans, proposed by California, Arizona, and New Mexico, would involve the conservation of an additional 3 million acre-feet of water beyond their existing cutback commitments.

Thanks to their efforts, “we have staved off the immediate possibility of the System’s reservoirs from falling to critically low elevations that would threaten water deliveries and power production,” Deputy Secretary Tommy Beaudreau said in a statement.

With the time bought by the agreement, all seven basin states are supposed to come to agreement on a plan for the long-term stability of the system.

Of the water conserved in the deal, the majority would be compensated with funding from the Inflation Reduction Act.

TOYOTA CHAIRMAN CLAIMS VINDICATION ON ELECTRIC VEHICLE LULL: When he was CEO of Toyota, Akio Toyoda famously avoided investing in electric vehicles as aggressively as competitors.

Yesterday, Toyoda, who remains the chairman of the carmaker and is the head of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association, took a bit of a victory lap in taking stock of the latest news related to EVs, including the slowdown in U.S. sales.

“People are finally seeing reality,” Toyoda said at the Japan Mobility Show, according to the Wall Street Journal. 

“There are many ways to climb the mountain that is achieving carbon neutrality,” he said, with reference to the demand for hybrid vehicles.

As a reminder, though, Toyoda’s successor as CEO, Koji Sato, said earlier this year that the company had to “drastically” change course to prioritize building EVs.

Editor’s note: An earlier version of this newsletter accidentally misidentified an amendment offered by Rep. Harriet Hageman of Wyoming. The passage has been removed.

The Rundown

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