Oil export deal in omnibus in trouble

Industry lobbyists say an agreement on a set of demands has not been resolved, with legislative language defining much of the horse trading due out Monday. Congress passed a five-day measure to fund the government until the particulars of a long-term spending package can be worked out. President Obama signed the measure on Friday.

Ross Eisenberg, energy policy vice president for the National Association of Manufacturers, says lawmakers are being tight-lipped on the details of the deal, but he suggested the list of environmental sweeteners is growing.

“I am getting radio silence in conversations” with lawmakers as of Friday, he said, adding that it still “remains to be seen” what happens on oil exports.

The biggest environmental asks by the Democrats include:

• Extending tax credits for wind energy production that expired a year ago. Depending on who you ask, extending the Production Tax Credit could mean extending the wind credit for 10 years or permanently. Aides with lawmakers on the House Ways and Means Committee say a compromise of two to five years is closer to what is doable. Lobbyists say a five-year extension, or longer, would receive opposition from the most conservative members of the party.
• Reauthorizing the Land and Water Conservation Fund, a federal program that works with states to support wildlife refuges, national parks and a host of other efforts to protect wild areas. The 50-year-old program has been underfunded for years and was allowed to expire recently when Congress did not pass a necessary reauthorization measure. Eisenberg said putting the fund in the spending bill could pave the way to pass a national chemical safety bill that has been held up because Democrats wanted to combine it with the reauthorization of the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which the GOP opposed.
• Energy efficiency is also on the table, Eisenberg said. He said the latest is that provisions from a comprehensive energy-efficiency bill introduced earlier by Sens. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, and Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., is being included in the horse trading for oil exports. But no details are being given about the specific measures.
• Removing environmental riders already on the bill, including one rescinding the Environmental Protection Agency’s Waters of the U.S. rule. The White House says the president will veto the spending bill if the rider is included. Observers say Republicans will have to remove the water rule rider if it wants to avoid a veto, so the Democrats shouldn’t focus so much on that.

The manufacturers favor lifting the 40-year-old ban on oil exports as a matter of free trade and having access to markets, Eisenberg said.

Other industry lobbyists close to the negotiations say to be wary of reports that the parties are nearing agreement on lifting the ban.

“The problem right now is the goal posts keep moving,” said one lobbyist. If the Democrats would settle on an extension of the wind tax credits, plus fund the extension of the conservation fund, plus removal of environmental riders, that still might not be enough to get Democrats’ support to lift the oil export ban.

“A lot of moving parts to this,” the lobbyist said. To say it’s a “slam dunk” for lifting the ban is “premature.” He says there are “a lot more ways for this to fall apart” than to succeed.

Some Democrats are pushing for parity on tax extenders, saying if lifting the ban would be permanent then so should the renewable energy credits. Similar arguments are being made about funding for the conservation fund. Some Republicans have made it clear that they wouldn’t tolerate that, say lobbyists.