American Oil and Gas Reporter - September 2021 - 28

Infrastructure, Budget Bills Advance
Federal Legislation
WASHINGTON-A pair of major bills
with implications for U.S. energy policy
cleared key checkpoints toward passage
in August, though press accounts indicate
both bills' ultimate fates probably will
be decided in September.
One of the bills, HR 3684, the Infrastructure
and Jobs Act, is a $1 trillion infrastructure
plan that the Senate passed
in early August, Congress.gov describes.
Media reports note that its broad outline
largely was sketched by a bipartisan coalition
of lawmakers composed of senators
Lisa Murkowski, R-Ak., Susan Collins,
R-Me., Rob Portman, R-Oh., Kyrsten
Sinema, D-Az., Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H.,
and Joe Manchin, D-W.V.
Meanwhile, Congress also grappled
with a budget reconciliation package that
media accounts say contains aggressive
new programs to curtail greenhouse gas
emissions. Reports say the framework
seeks to offer incentives to utilities for
zero-emission electrical generation while
penalizing companies that fall short of
those standards. It also contains " Clean
Energy " tax breaks, as well as incentives
for clean vehicles, home weatherization
and electrification, and fees on methane
emissions and carbon-intensive imports.
In an August 25 letter to his colleagues,
Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer,
D-N.Y., claimed the combined bills would
mitigate the worst effects of climate
change and help the United States take
the lead on clean energy.
" The Build Back Better budget will
represent the most significant investment
in tackling the climate crisis in U.S.
history and-in conjunction with the Infrastructure
Investment and Jobs Act-
would put our country on the path to
meet President Biden's climate change
goals of 80% clean electricity and 50%
economywide carbon emission reduction
by 2030, all while delivering 40% of the
benefits from these climate investments
to disadvantaged communities, " Schumer
wrote.
Orphaned Well Program
HR 3684, the infrastructure bill, contains
language crafted by Senator Kevin
Kramer, R-N.D., and Senator Ben Ray
Luján, D-N.M., to plug and remediate
orphaned wells. The language, which
originally was part of the " Revive Economic
Growth and Reclaim Orphaned
Wells " (REGROW) Act, was amended
into the infrastructure package, and has
earned praise from the Independent Pe28
THE AMERICAN OIL & GAS REPORTER
troleum Association of America and Interstate
Oil & Gas Compact Commission,
but also the Environmental Defense Fund.
" IPAA congratulates senators Cramer
and Luján on the passage of the REGROW
Act as part of the bipartisan infrastructure
package, " says IPAA President and Chief
Executive Officer Barry Russell. " We appreciate
their leadership on this important
legislation to address orphan wells. The
REGROW Act will provide funds for state
orphan well programs and aid their initiatives
and the workers who undertake these efforts
during the difficult fiscal times caused by
the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. "
Kramer says that if the legislation becomes
law, it will provide:
· $4.275 billion for orphaned well
cleanup on state and private lands;
· $400 million for orphaned well
cleanup on public and tribal lands; and
· $32 million for related research,
development and implementation.
According to The Permian Basin Petroleum
Association, HR 3684 includes
a full surface transportation reauthorization
bill, as well as funding for:
· Electric grid updates;
· Expanded broadband Internet access;
·
Water infrastructure, resiliency and
Western water storage; and
· Environmental remediation.
PBPA adds that $550 billion of the
bill constitutes new federal spending,
while the rest comes from existing, planned
allocations for roads, highways and
bridges.
However, some express concern about
the legislation's extensive subsidies for
" green " energy initiatives. A Wall Street
Journal editorial observes that the bill
allocates $21.5 billion for the U.S. Department
of Energy's new Office of Clean
Energy Demonstrations, while also subsidizing
projects in amounts that include:
· $8 billion for " clean hydrogen; "
· $7.5 billion for electric vehicle
charging stations;
· $3.5 billion for carbon capture and
storage; and
· $2.4 billion toward advanced nuclear
reactors.
Some oil and gas representatives laud
those measures, such as Frank Macchiarola,
the American Petroleum Institute's senior
vice president for policy, economics and
regulatory affairs. " We are encouraged
that the Senate's proposal recognizes the
importance of energy infrastructure for
American families and businesses, " he
states. " Specifically, this agreement contains
support for the development of innovative
technologies, like carbon capture and hydrogen,
that will help achieve climate
progress. We will continue to work with
members of both parties on modernizing
the nation's infrastructure and meeting
the increasing demand for affordable, reliable
and sustainable energy. "
But, warns Competitive Enterprise Institute
Senior Fellow Ben Lieberman in
RealClear Energy, HR 3684 also expands
federal control over state and local building
codes in ways that may allow the Biden
administration to discourage natural gas
use in homes and businesses.
" The bill doesn't do this explicitly,
but through carrots-it authorizes $225
million in grant money for 'assisting
standards-setting bodies,' " he writes. " The
language may sound innocent enough,
for example grants to 'enable sustained,
cost-effective implementation of updated
building energy codes,' but in practice
this means the only recipients will be
those who play ball with the Biden climate
agenda targeting natural gas. "
Budget Bill
Meanwhile, published reports note,
August also saw the Senate advance a
$3.5 trillion budget plan on party lines.
During Senate debate on the budget resolution,
Senator John Barrasso, R-Wy.,
successfully attached an amendment that
explicitly barred regulations to design
the " Green New Deal " pushed by some
on Capitol Hill.
However, the Senate also adopted an
amendment by Senator Tom Carper, DDe.,
to allow for changes to the resolution
to enact climate change policies. A 5742
Senate vote approved an amendment
by Cramer to prohibit a ban on hydraulic
fracturing, but a 50-49 party line vote
defeated an amendment by Senator Cynthia
Lummis, R-Wy., that would end the
U.S. Department of Interior's freeze on
federal mineral leasing.
To avoid the Senate's customary 60vote
threshold to end floor debate, the
budget bill has proceeded according to
strict budget reconciliation requirements,
which limits its subject matter to fiscal
matters. Press accounts indicate some
congressional Democrats have expressed
plans to help meet the bill's $3.5 trillion
price tag by altering the federal oil and
gas leasing program and overhauling
the federal tax code's provisions on energy
production.
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http://www.Congress.gov
American Oil and Gas Reporter - September 2021

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