Today, the House voted on--and passed--two horrible energy bills. Both are DOA in the Senate, thankfully.
First up was a bill that would force regulators to speed up oil and gas drilling permits and offer more federal lands for energy development. The legislation would automatically approve onshore drilling permits if Interior failed to act on them in 60 days. As you may have here at the Daily Kos earlier today, the bill would require individuals to pay a $5,000 fee in order to to file an official protest against a proposed drilling project.
It passed 228 to 1921.
I'll let Rush Holt (NJ-12) describe the impact of the bill:
Rep. Rush Holt (D-N.J.) called the bill a giveaway to oil companies that would curtail environmental protections.
“Republicans have this playbook that they just can't get away from, this shopworn 2008 drill, baby, drill playbook,” said Holt, the top Democrat on the Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee.
“And so they want to try to make things easier for Big Oil while trying to ensure that conservation and hunting and fishing and recreation and renewables and everything else that these federal lands might be used for has to take a back seat to drilling,” he said.
Holt also flagged some data of his own.
He noted that for onshore federal areas that the bill addresses (as opposed to onshore and offshore areas combined), oil production has climbed in recent years.
“Onshore oil production from federal and Indian lands, just what we are talking about in this legislation, has gone up every year since the president has been in office. It is now 35 percent higher than it was under President Bush. Yet this legislation would not just reduce environmental productions. It would gut them; it would remove them,” he said.
Frank Wolf (VA-10) was the bill’s sole Republican opponent.
7 Democrats voted for the bill:
John Barrow (GA-12)
Jim Costa (CA-16)
Henry Cuellar (TX-28)
Jim Matheson (UT-04)
Mike McIntyre (NC-07)
Bill Owens (NY-21)
Collin Peterson (MN-07)
Before the final vote, the House defeated several Democratic amendments.
Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (TX-18) offered an amendment clarifying that language in the bill requiring a $5,000 charge for protests related to a drilling permit cannot be construed as something that violates anyone's constitutional right to petition the government. It failed 199 to 222.
Four Republicans voted for it: Chris Gibson (NY-19), Leonard Lance (NJ-07), Richard Nugent (FL-11), and Mark Sanford (SC-01).
Two Democrats voted against it: Jim Costa (CA-16) and Collin Peterson (MN-07).
Rep. Alan Lowenthal (CA-47) offered an amendment striking language in the bill in order to allow the Secretary of the Interior to review oil and gas activities under the National Environmental Policy Act for significant impacts on public health and safety. It failed 194 to 228.
Four Democrats voted against it: John Barrow (GA-12), Jim Costa (CA-16), Henry Cuellar (TX-28), and Bill Owens (NY-21).
Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (TX-18) offered another amendment, this one removing language that prevents parties from receiving payment from the federal government for attorney fees, expenses, and other court costs, as part of any judicial review of an energy permit. It failed 198 to 225.
Four Republicans voted for it: Justin Amash (MI-03), Paul Broun (GA-10), Chris Gibson (NY-19), and Richard Hanna (NY-22).
Three Democrats voted against it: Jim Costa (CA-16), Marcy Kaptur (OH-09), and Collin Peterson (MN-07).
Rep. Jared Polis (CO-02) offered an amendment to require the National Academy of Sciences to study and report to Congress on the impact of flooding on oil and gas facilities. It failed 202 to 221.
Only two Democrats voted against it: Bill Owens (NY-21) and Collin Peterson (MN-07).
8 Republicans supported it:
Bill Cassidy (LA-06)
Jeff Fortenberry (NE-01)
Chris Gibson (NY-19)
Richard Hanna (NY-22)
Leonard Lance (NJ-07)
Mark Meadows (NC-11)
Erik Paulsen (MN-03)
Rob Woodall (GA-07)
Rep. Pete DeFazio (OR-04) offered an amendment to redirect $10 million from an account dealing with streamlining permitting to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which the CFTC could use to limit speculation in energy markets. It failed 195 to 226.
4 Republicans voted for it: Mike Fitzpatrick (PA-08), Jeff Fortenberry (NE-01), Chris Gibson (NY-19), and Walter Jones (NC-03).
4 Democrats voted against it: Jim Cooper (TN-05), Jim Costa (CA-16), John Delaney (MD-06), and Jared Polis (CO-02).
The second bill (H.R. 2728), the Protecting States’ Rights to Promote American Energy Security Act, blocks the Department of Interior from regulating fracking in states that already have their own regulations in place. The regulations currently pending at Interior would require full disclosure of all chemicals used during fracking and will likely contain language on well integrity and the management of flowback water.
Here's Rush Holt on the bill, per The Hill:
"Tell the people living next to the huge open pits of wastewater that the real danger is the federal government wants to make sure the states have minimum standards," Rep. Rush Holt (D-N.J.) said.
Holt also displayed a picture of water flowing out of a tap that is emitting methane gas, which was then lit on fire. "The water is full of methane," he said.
Holt said some have dismissed the idea that these effects are being caused by fracking, but said "it happens where fracking is occurring."
The bill Act
passed 235 to 187.
Chris Gibson (NY-19) and Jon Runyan (NJ-03) were the only Republicans to vote against the bill.
12 Democrats voted for it:
John Barrow (GA-12)
Sanford Bishop (GA-02)
Jim Costa (CA-16)
Henry Cuellar (TX-28)
Sheila Jackson Lee (TX-18)
Ann Kirkpatrick (AZ-01)
Jim Matheson (UT-04)
Mike McIntyre (NC-07)
Collin Peterson (MN-07)
Nick Rahall (WV-03)
Cedric Richmond (LA-02)
Terri Sewell (AL-07)
Rep. Pete DeFazio (OR-04) had introduced an amendment to prohibit the export of natural gas produced on public lands. It failed 142 to 276.
Only two Republicans voted for it: Jeff Fortenberry (NE-01) and Walter Jones (NC-03)
56 Democrats voted against it:
Ron Barber (AZ-02)
Ami Bera (CA-07)
Corrine Brown (FL-05)
G. K. Butterfield (NC-01)
Tony Cárdenas (CA-29)
Joaquin Castro (TX-20)
Gerry Connolly (VA-11)
Jim Cooper (TN-05)
Jim Costa (CA-16)
Joe Courtney (CT-02)
Henry Cuellar (TX-28)
Susan Davis (CA-53)
Diana DeGette (CO-01)
John Delaney (MD-06)
Rosa DeLauro (CT-03)
John Dingell (MI-12)
Mike Doyle (PA-14)
Tammy Duckworth (IL-08)
Bill Foster (IL-11)
Pete Gallego (TX-23)
Joe Garcia (FL-26)
Al Green (TX-09)
Gene Green (TX-29)
Janice Hahn (CA-44)
Jim Himes (CT-04)
Rubén Hinojosa (TX-15)
Steny Hoyer (MD-05)
Sheila Jackson Lee (TX-18)
Eddie Johnson (TX-30)
Ron Kind (WI-03)
Rick Larsen (WA-02)
John Larson (CT-01)
Michelle Lujan Grisham (NM-01)
Ben Luján (NM-03)
Dan Maffei (NY-24)
Jim Matheson (UT-02)
Mike McIntyre (NC-07)
Patrick Murphy (FL-18)
Gloria Negrette McLeod (CA-35)
Ed Perlmutter (CO-07)
Scott Peters (CA-52)
Nick Rahall (WV-03)
Cedric Richmond (LA-02)
Dutch Ruppersberger (MD-02)
Tim Ryan (OH-13)
Loretta Sanchez (CA-46)
Kurt Schrader (OR-05)
Allyson Schwartz (PA-13)
Bobby Scott (VA-03)
Terri Sewell (AL-07)
Kyrsten Sinema (AZ-09)
Mark Takano (CA-41)
Juan Vargas (CA-51)
Marc Veasey (TX-33)
Filemon Vela (TX-34)
Peter Visclosky (IN-01)
Rep. Rush Holt (NJ-12) introduced an amendment to allow Interior to regulate fracking for the purpose of reducing methane emissions from oil and gas operations on public lands. The amendment failed 190 to 230.
Chris Gibson (NY-19) was the sole Republican supporter.
Eight Democrats opposed it:
John Barrow (GA-12)
Jim Costa (CA-16)
Henry Cuellar (TX-28)
Pete Gallego (TX-23)
Gene Green (TX-29)
Jim Matheson (UT-04)
Collin Peterson (MN-07)
Filemon Vela (TX-34)