Yesterday the House of Representatives voted 264-163 to pass
“The C.L.E.A.N. Energy Act of 2007,” (H.R. 6) which would close some tax
loopholes for big oil companies, and recover royalties from oil and gas
produced in public waters. H.R. 6 will shift more than $14 billion from
these subsidies to investments in clean energy, such as energy efficient
technologies and renewable power. The bill was the last of the six bills
brought up for consideration during the House’s first 100 legislative hours.
All eight of Maryland’s
representatives voted in favor of the bill.
“Today the 110th Congress made a down payment on a new
energy future,” said Environment Maryland State Director Brad Heavner. “Marylanders
should be proud that our representatives all supported this legislation.”
H.R. 6 would establish a “clean energy fund” that would
create incentives for and investments in energy efficient and renewable energy
technologies. These funds could:
- Spur
the construction of wind and solar energy power generation facilities.
- Save
consumers money on their energy bills with incentives for energy efficient
appliances, buildings, and equipment.
- Enable
more to purchase gas-saving hybrid cars and trucks.
The resources for the fund would come from the elimination
of more than $14 billion in subsidies and tax breaks that benefit oil and gas
companies that made record profits over the past few years. The bill
would provide a strong incentive for oil companies to renegotiate offshore
drilling leases signed in 1998 and 1999 that provided unlimited royalty
relief. It would also repeal several royalty relief provisions authorized
in the Energy Policy Act of 2005.
A recent study by the U.S. Department of Interior found that
royalty relief has led to “only a tiny increase in production,” (New
York Times, 12/22/06) but would cost nearly $48 billion
over the next 40 years.
The bill would also prevent major oil companies such
as ExxonMobil from claiming a tax break for “geological and geophysical”
expenditures enacted in 2005. It would also remove a tax benefit from 2004 that
lowers the income tax rate paid by oil companies by reclassifying oil and gas
production as a manufactured good.
