The American Clean Energy and Security Act that barely passed the U.S. House of Representatives last week is either the first major step in curtailing the emission of gases believed responsible for global warming or will lead to “the complete annihilation of the oil industry in the United States.”
For Republican congressmen from Texas and a panel of like-minded energy industry representatives who held an Energy Summit on Wednesday, the bill now headed for the Senate is the latter.
“We’ve got to make sure the American people know how bad this bill is for our future,” Congressman Pete Olson, R-Sugar Land, whose district includes Galveston County, said. “It’s going to make the cost of living go up a couple of thousand dollars just to flip the light switch on.”
Olson organized the Texas Energy Summit, which featured Houston Congressman John Culberson, Dallas Congressman Pete Sessions and Arlington Congressman Joe Barton, all Republicans.
Industry concerns
The session also featured a panel composed of Texas Railroad Commission Chairman Victor Carrillo, Electric Reliability Council of Texas President Bob Kahn as well as Pat French of the oil trade group Texas Alliance for Energy Producers and former Enron executive Robert Bradley, who now heads a group called the Institute for Energy Research.
Backed by President Barack Obama and championed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the American Clean Energy and Security Act that skinned out of the House in a 219-212 vote last week is supposed to reduce emissions by 80 percent in the next 40 years and encourage more clean energy alternatives. It is supposed to generate more green jobs after it is implemented starting in 2012.
Bradley, the former speech writer for Enron’s late CEO Ken Lay, called the legislation the worst since the early 1970s, while Barton charged it would lead to the “complete annihilation of the oil industry” in Texas and the country.
Concern about the bill resonated beyond the meeting room. Bill Day, the head of corporate communications for Valero, the largest U.S.-based oil refiner, which operates seven refineries in Texas including its 245,000-barrel-per-day refinery in Texas City, said his company was “very concerned” about the legislation and that it was not the way to reach the goals of lower emissions, less dependence on foreign oil and increased green energy programs.
While the company supports implementing stricter emission standards, he said it needs to be fair. The legislation as written forces a cap and a tax for companies that go above standards is unfair to U.S.-based refiners.
He said the bill would increase the import of crude oil from countries where the emission standards were less restrictive. It would increase consumer prices on gasoline, he said.
“Of course, those higher prices will be passed along to the American consumer,” Day said.
Global-based BP has concerns about the legislation, too. The oil giant operates a Texas City refinery that is the nation’s third largest.
Spokesman Ronnie Chappell echoed Day’s sentiments on pushing for a fair bill and expressed confidence changes could be made to the legislation.
“Significant changes and improvements have been made since the bill was first introduced, however, the legislation is a work in progress and there is still much to do,” Chappell said. “We will continue to work with the Senate to achieve a bill that is fair to all energy consumers.”
More Than Just Oil
Bob Mitchell, the president of the Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership, called the bill disastrous and warned it would heavily damage the economic viability of refining base in the region.
“It goes beyond the oil companies,” Mitchell said. “We need to let the citizens know what this will do to Texas jobs. It’s going to have a horrible impact.”
Opponents argue the bill will lead to higher electricity rates and result in higher costs to provide good and services. It also will lead to job losses even after any green jobs are created, they said.
Olson said the conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation estimates job losses in his district would be about 5,000 a year. Barton said he estimates Texas would lose about 135,000 jobs in the first year if the bill becomes law.
Proponents have argued that, in the long run, more jobs will be created but have not offered estimates of how many jobs.
Partisan Message
Olson was clear from the top that while staged as a small congressional hearing, Wednesday’s session was not designed to be a bipartisan effort, but instead a way for he and other Republicans to promote their opposition to the legislation.
“We talked to the other side and we could have invited the other side, but they are at a different place on this issue,” Olson said before the meeting at the University of Houston-Clear Lake. “This is about communicating our message that we have alternatives to this bill and that there is a way to meet the goal on cleaner energy without hurting the incomes of families.”
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More Online
Read more of this story and watch video from Wednesday’s Texas Energy Summit. Find links to the bill and talking points in favor of and against the bill from The White House and from opponents in the Politics blog at galvnews.com.
