House Energy Moves

Speaker Nancy Pelosi and several House committee chairman held a press conference [1] earlier today to announce their initial energy independence package [2].

Depending on how things play out, it could make the Senate energy bill [3] stronger, or it could make it weaker.

Rep. John Dingell's committee has chosen to leave out some of the more contentious proposals [4] in its bill -- both good proposals like increased standards for vehicle fuel efficiency and renewable energy for electricity, and bad ones like support for liquid coal.

In comparison, the Senate bill [3] has the higher fuel efficiency standards (commonly called CAFE), but renewable electricity standards were left out under threat of filibuster. (And liquid coal was voted down.)

Also, the House tax committee has proposed long-term tax credits for renewable energy [2], funded in part by closing loopholes for Big Oil. (This may get voted on separately from the larger energy package.)

A similar proposal was filibustered on the Senate side, but [3] Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has indicated he has to votes to overcome a filibuster.

The House package is expected to hit the floor next month, where things could change.

In the news conference, Speaker Pelosi stressed there would an "open process" as the legislative process continued. During a later blogger conference call [5], I asked if that meant we would see votes on those provisions initially left out, and she said because it's an open process, she doesn't know.

Since CAFE increases are in the Senate bill, avoiding the issue in the House may be a positive thing. According to CQ, House conservatives tried to incorporate a weaker CAFE provision because in the words of one [6], "It’s hard to beat something with nothing." They were unsuccessful [7], meaning the Senate version has a better chance of surviving a House-Senate conference.

But for things left out of the Senate bill, like renewable electricity standards and long-term renewable energy tax credits, if they're not in the House version, they won't become law.

At least for the moment. Pelosi and Dingell both talked of additional legislation in September [1] -- including a cap-and-trade bill to comprehensively attack global warming.

The upshot is:

* What happens on the House floor next month matters.

* What happens in the eventual House-Senate conference matters even more.

* And the September legislation may matter the most.