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On the Issues
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Environment and Energy
For the latest developments on Senator Lieberman's work on environmental issues, click here. Enhancing America's Energy Security Enhancing Energy Security. The price of oil accounts for at least half the price that consumers pay for gasoline at the pump. Unfortunately, oil prices are volatile and rising over the long term. The fundamental reason is the shrinking margin between global oil demand and global oil supply. The US cannot drill its way out of this bind, for any amount of oil produced from new wells in the US would be just a trickle in the global oil market and thus would not have any appreciable effect on the price Americans pay on that market. Senator Lieberman believes that the only way we can free ourselves from recurring fuel price spikes and the whims of volatile and even hostile oil producing nations is to end our oil addiction and encourage the use of alternative fuels. That means sharply decreasing the amount of oil that our vehicles use. In November 2005, Senator Lieberman joined Senators Evan Bayh (D-IN), Sam Brownback (R-KS), Ken Salazar (D-CO), Norm Coleman (R-MN), and others in introducing a bill to do just that. After the 109th Congress failed to act on the bill, Senator Lieberman and his cosponsors reintroduced it in January 2007. Called the Dependence Reduction Through Innovation in Vehicles and Energy (DRIVE) Act (S. 339), the bill would require the Executive Branch to use means readily at its disposal to save, by 2016, 2.5 million barrels per day from projected oil consumption in that year. That is roughly the amount of oil the United States currently imports from the Middle East. The bill would require 7 million barrels per day in savings by 2026 and 10 million barrels per day in savings by 2031. To implement those savings, the DRIVE Act would set rising targets for manufacturers to produce flexible-fuel, alternative-fuel, hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and fuel-cell vehicles; institute loan guarantees, grants, and tax credits to promote sales of those vehicles; mandate the development of fuel-efficiency standards for heavy-duty vehicles; eliminate the current tax break for purchases of heavy Sports Utility Vehicles; require the federal government to improve the fuel-efficiency of its vehicle fleets; institute a program for increasing the use of fuel-saving tires; and institute a series of steps for increasing domestic production of ethanol fuel. The DRIVE Act currently has 26 cosponsors. Senator Lieberman has also been tackling energy security through the groundbreaking Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act. Analyses of the Act's combination of market incentives, rebates, and technology funding project that it will reduce oil imports by up to 58% by 2025. Senator Lieberman joined with his DRIVE Act partners to introduce the Open Fuel Standard Act of 2008 (S. 3303). This legislation would require automobile manufacturers to ensure that their annual inventory of light-duty vehicles is comprised of not less than 50% fuel choice-enabling vehicles in 2012-2014 and not less than 80% fuel choice-enabling vehicles beginning in 2015. These vehicles are able to operate using E85 or M85 fuel, or biodiesel, thus reducing the need for oil. These vehicles are already in production and used overseas, at a comparable cost to vehicles that only run on gasoline. Read more about energy independence Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). Senator Lieberman has taken aggressive action to reduce energy costs for Connecticut consumers. He has formally requested additional funds for emergency Low Income Home Energy Assistance (LIHEAP) the State Energy Program, the Weatherization Assistance Program, and for an energy efficiency public information initiative. He has recently cosponsored legislation to enhance the ability of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the state attorneys general to investigate, and take action against, gasoline price-gouging, during times of declared emergency. Senator Lieberman has been a constant advocate for increased LIHEAP funding, especially in times of record energy prices. With his strong support, President Bush released $121 million in emergency funding in late Fiscal Year 2008, $6.9 million of which went to Connecticut residents in need. Senator Lieberman was proud to vote in favor of the Consolidated Security, Disaster Assistance, and Continuing Appropriations Act (HR. 2638), which increased LIHEAP funding in Fiscal Year 2009 to $5.1 billion, of which CT will recieve $126 million. For more information on Energy Assistance programs in Connecticut, visit the Citizen's Energy Corporation Website Defending Electricity Consumers. Senator Lieberman repeatedly joined Connecticut officials and other members of the Connecticut Congressional Delegation in strenuously opposing a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) plan, known as Locational Installed Capacity (LICAP). The proposal would have had a crippling financial impact on Connecticut consumers, as well as on Connecticut's overall economic and business development picture by artificially increasing the rates that Connecticut's electricity providers can charge consumers, in an attempt to provide financial incentives to Connecticut's energy providers to increase the state's electric generation capacity. Under the LICAP plan, electricity consumers in Southwestern Connecticut, which currently has the most severe energy shortage in the state, would pay more for their electricity than consumers in other parts of Connecticut. LICAP was supposed to go into effect in September 2005, but Senator Lieberman and the Connecticut delegation helped convince FERC to postpone implementation of LICAP and instead to hold further hearings. This decision was the direct result of language that Lieberman and his colleagues has inserted in the Energy Policy Act of 2005. FERC eventually authorized settlement negotiations, which culminated in a new FERC order in June of 2006. Citing Senator Lieberman's Energy Policy Act language, FERC approved a settlement that will save Connecticut rate payers $800 million over the next 4 years, as compared to the staggering rate increase they would have faced under the LICAP plan. Curbing Global Warming. Senator Lieberman is widely recognized as one of the leading experts in Congress on climate change. On June 27, 2007, he and Senator John Warner (R-VA) announced that they would begin drawing upon existing proposals and new ideas to draft a comprehensive bill to address global warming. On October 18, 2007, Senators Lieberman and Warner introduced "America's Climate Security Act" (S. 2191).The new bill structures an economy-wide cap and trade program that provides maximum flexibility to the marketplace to meet a level of emission reductions that is environmentally credible. It provides federal investment in new technologies, include cost-containment provisions, and ensure international participation by developing nations. Senator Lieberman is the chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Private Sector and Consumer Solutions to Global Warming and Wildlife Protection. Senator Warner is the ranking minority member of that subcommittee. The two brought the bipartisan accord to their subcommittee on October 24, 2007. The legislation was reported to the full committee on November 1, 2007, and the full Environment and Public Works committee favorably reported the Climate Secruity Act to the full Senate on December 5, 2007. On June 6th, 2008, 54 members of the United States Senate, including 9 Republicans, demonstrated their desire to move forward with the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act. Forty-eight Senators voted to invoke cloture on the substitute amendment that Senators Joe Lieberman (ID-CT) and John Warner (R-VA) had worked out with Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA), the Chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee. An additional 6 Senators submitted statements that they would have voted in favor of moving forward as well had they been present. For more details on the Climate Security Act, click here. Senator Lieberman also chairs the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. There, on April 19, 2007, he held a hearing on the losses that farmers and coastal property owners could suffer at the hands of the intensified droughts, floods, and storm surges projected to result from unchecked global warming. Senator Lieberman is committed to working with his colleagues on the Environment and Public Works Committee, which has jurisdiction over legislation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, to enact a strong, economy-wide, cap-and-trade climate bill as soon as possible. Read more about global warming
Arctic Refuge. Senator Lieberman has led several successful fights on the Senate floor over the last fourteen years to protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge from oil drilling. He aggressively fought against drilling proposals in 1991, 1995, 2001, 2003, and he is the lead sponsor of legislation in the 110th Congress to protect the Refuge permanently by designating it as wilderness. This legislation, S. 2316, currently has 27 cosponsors. A recent analysis by the Bush Administration confirmed that drilling in ANWR would not produce oil for more than a decade and would only reduce that cost gasoline by a few cents per gallon in 2025.
Clean Air. Senator Lieberman played a significant role in drafting the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments. This law has helped to reduce smog, acid rain, and other pollutants that foul our air. The Sierra Club recognized his important role with a "Friend of Clean Air" award. Since that time, he has been a stalwart defender of the laws protecting Connecticut and American citizens from harmful air pollution. Senator Lieberman has proudly cosponsored numerous pieces of legislation designed to reduce harmful emissions from electric generation facilities. He has cosponsored the Mercury Emissions Control Act (S. 2643) that would control mercury emissions from electric utility steam generating units. Senator Lieberman is an original cosponsor of the Clean Power Act of 2007 (S. 1201), which would reduce emissions of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, global warming pollutants, and mercury from generation facilities. he also cosponsored the Comprehensive National Mercury Monitoring Act (S. 843), which would establish a mercury monitoring program to assess changing air and water mercury levels. These bills are all pending action by the Environment and Public Works Committee.
Reining in High Energy Costs. America's drivers are paying exorbitant prices to fill their tanks. Meanwhile, oil companies are enjoying record profits, thanks in no small part to a conscious strategy on their part to reduce our country's refining capacity. The price that refiners charge fuel distributors accounts for approximately 20 percent of the price of a gallon of gas. Over the years, industry insiders have advised US oil companies to reduce spare refining capacity as a way to boost profits. As one Chevron memo paraphrased the advice, "if the US petroleum industry doesn't reduce its refining capacity, it will never see any substantial increase in refining margins." The oil companies have heeded the advice with a vengeance, and, between 1999 and 2004, the profit margin of US refiners increased 80 percent. That widening profit margin would stimulate new competitors to enter the domestic refining market, if only the market were competitive. Unfortunately, the federal government's antitrust enforcers have stood by as oil companies have merged and merged again. Now the remaining behemoths are powerful enough to block new entrants. According to the US Government Accountability Office (GAO), the increased market concentration caused by the mergers has led to higher wholesale gasoline prices. In May 2007, Senator Lieberman joined the rest of the Connecticut Congressional Delegation in writing the GAO requesting information about the most recent spike in gasoline prices. In particular, they asked for an investigation of the effect of the under-utilization of oil refineries on gas prices. Their letter aims to ensure that any manipulation of the market price of gasoline is brought to light. Also in May 2007, Senator Lieberman again cosponsored Senator Herb Kohl's (D-WI) and Senator Arlen Specter's (R-PA) Oil Industry Merger Antitrust Enforcement Act, which would help restore competitive conditions to the refining industry. Senator Lieberman has been working to control high electricity prices as well. In May 2007, he and Senator Susan Collins (R-ME), in their capacities as chairman and ranking minority member of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, requested that the GAO investigate ISO-New England, the operator of New England's electrical grid. Senators Lieberman and Collins asked GAO to examine the extent to which ISO-New England's management has actually had a beneficial impact on electricity rates in the region. They also asked GAO to determine whether ISO-New England has, in its decision-making, been emphasizing the need to keep long-term costs for consumers as low as possible. The results of this study are due later this year. In February 2007, Senator Lieberman led six other New England Senators in sending a letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), urging it to deny the 100 basis point incentive "adder" to rates for new transmission facilities, because regional transmission owners were already legally obligated to make such transmission upgrades. In 2006, after several years of effort, Senator Lieberman, working together with the Connecticut Congressional Delegation and state officials, won the battle to save Connecticut electricity consumers $800 million - or half - of the rate-hike that federal regulators and electric companies had in store for them for the next four years. Their victory took the form of the reversal of a plan by ISO-New England to split the State of Connecticut into two zones for electricity pricing. The plan, called Locational Installed Capacity (LICAP), would have meant $1.6 billion in higher prices for Connecticut consumers, for the sake of a risky scheme for providing financial incentives to Connecticut's energy producers to increase the state's electric generation capacity. In June 2006, FERC approved an agreement reducing by half the electricity-rate increase that LICAP would have imposed. For more information on energy assistance programs in Connecticut, visit the Citizen's Energy Corporation Website.
Ensuring that the Federal Government Fully Implements the Nation's Environmental Protection Laws. In April 2007, Senator Lieberman led four Senate colleagues in writing the US Secretary of the Interior to oppose draft changes to the regulations that implement the Endangered Species Act. Their letter noted that the draft changes would reduce dramatically the current scope and positive impact of the Act. The letter posed fifteen detailed questions about the draft rule changes and requested that the Department not move any closer to promulgating any revisions until it answered the Senators' questions. In April 2006, Senator Lieberman placed a hold on the nomination of William Wehrum to the post of Assistant Administrator of the US Environmental Protection Agency. In explaining his decision to block the nomination, Senator Lieberman noted that, during Mr. Wehrum's tenure in EPA's Office of Air and Radiation, he had played a central role in some of the most environmentally destructive decisions that EPA has made, from gutting the Clean Air Act's New Source Review program to revoking the promise of mercury controls at every coal-fired power plant to weakening limits on carcinogenic emissions. Mr. Wehrum acknowledged his central role in carrying out those initiatives. Senator Lieberman played a significant role in drafting the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments. That law has helped to reduce smog, acid rain, and other pollutants that foul our air. The Sierra Club recognized his important role with a "Friend of Clean Air" award. Since that time, Senator Lieberman has been a stalwart defender of the laws protecting Connecticut and American citizens from harmful air pollution.
Clean Water. Senator Lieberman has fought throughout his career to make all of our nation's waters swimmable and drinkable. He most recently was a lead cosponsor of the Clean Water Authority Restoration Act that will reverse a Bush Administration plan to remove up to 50 percent of waters from federal protection. He also cosponsored the Beach protection Act of 2008 (S. 2844), which provides for more rapid testing and public notification when water quality could present health risks to swimmers and beaches are subsequently closed. Senator Lieberman has repeatedly joined with other senators in calling for full funding of the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund programs. These programs provide critical water infrastructure funding to local communities.
Connecticut Conservation Efforts. Preserving and promoting Connecticut's natural and historical treasures has been a priority for Senator Lieberman throughout his career representing the state. Working with fellow Connecticut Senator Christopher Dodd and others in the state's Congressional delegation, Senator Lieberman succeeded in establishing the first national park in Connecticut at Weir Farm; adding the Mark Twain House to the register of historical places; and securing federal protections and funding for the McKinney National Wildlife Refuge and the Silvio O. Conte National Wildlife Refuge. In April 2007, Senators Lieberman and Dodd introduced the Weir Farm National Historic Site Amendment Act to enable this National Historic Site to acquire new lands. This bill was reported favorably by the Energy and Natural Resources Committee to the Senate Floor in April 2008. Preserving the Upper Housatonic Valley. In September 2006, Senator Lieberman helped secure final passage of his Upper Housatonic Valley National Heritage Area Act. President Bush signed the bill into law the following month. The Upper Housatonic Valley is a unique cultural and geographical region that encompasses 29 towns in the Housatonic River watershed, extending 60 miles from Lanesboro, Massachusetts to Kent, Connecticut. The valley has made significant national contributions: through literary, artistic, musical, and architectural achievements; as the backdrop for important Revolutionary War era events; as the cradle of the iron, paper, and electrical industries; and as home to key figures and events in the abolitionist and civil rights movements. It includes five National Historic Landmarks and four National Natural Landmarks. The area has already developed many significant heritage activities including an Iron Heritage Trail brochure, a graduate course for local teachers on the area, and a summer art event. The Upper Housatonic Valley National Heritage Area Act officially designates the region as part of the National Park Service system. It also authorizes $1 million in grants annually, up to a total of $10 million, for a variety of activities that conserve the significant natural, historical, cultural, and scenic resources, and that provide educational and recreational opportunities in the area. Recognizing Connecticut's Treasures . In February 2007, Senator Lieberman and Senator John Warner reintroduced their Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route National Historic Trail Designation Act. The bill would amend the National Trails System Act to grant the Historic Trail designation to the 600-mile route taken by the allied armies of General George Washington and General Jean-Baptiste de Rochambeau in 1781 from Newport, Rhode Island, through Connecticut and other states, to Yorktown, Virginia. On May 23, 2007, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee reported the bill to the Senate floor by a unanimous vote. Also in February 2007, Senators Lieberman and Dodd introduced the Eightmile Wild and Scenic River Act, which would amend the National Wild and Scenic River Act to include Eightmile River. The Eightmile River officially became the newest Wild and Scenic River in May 2008. In April 2007, Senator Lieberman joined Senators John Kerry (D-MA) and Edward Kennedy (D-MA) in introducing the New England National Scenic Trail Designation Act. This bill would amend the National Scenic Trail Act to include the 190-mile trail route through Connecticut and Massachusetts. In Connecticut, the trail proposed for designation includes the Metacomet-Mattabesett Trail and encompasses classic New England landscapes, such as unfragmented forests and large river valleys. This bill has been referred to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.
Protecting the Long Island Sound. In September 2006, Senator Lieberman helped secure final passage of his Long Island Sound Stewardship Act. President Bush signed the bill into law the following month. The Act will help protect Long Island Sound by providing financial incentives for landowners to preserve environmental quality and improve public access within the Long Island Sound area, which is home to 8,000,000 people. Senator Lieberman and his Connecticut colleague, Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), originally introduced the bill in 2004. It establishes a broad-based Long Island Sound Stewardship Advisory Committee, comprised of federal, state, local, and tribal governments, non-governmental organizations, academic institutions, landowners, farmers, fishermen, and other businesses. The Advisory Committee is charged with recommending land parcels within the region for designation by the US Environmental Protection Agency as Stewardship Sites eligible for special preservation funds. The Act authorizes $25 million per year for fiscal years 2007 through 2011 to the EPA Administrator to carry out the Act. In February 2006, Senator Lieberman announced his opposition to the Shell/TransCanada proposal to place a 1,200-foot long floating re-gasification facility called Broadwater in the New York state waters of Long Island Sound. He cited the negative impacts that the facility's construction and operation threatened to have on wildlife, first responders, recreational users, and commercial fishermen. Since that time, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the US Coast Guard each have issued a draft environmental impact statement, and the Coast Guard additionally has issued a waterway suitability report. Those documents support the project but at the same time identify dozens of costly and restrictive measures that would be necessary to protect public safety and the environment if the facility were built. In May 2007, Senators Lieberman and Dodd wrote FERC to criticize the Commission's proposed environmental impact statement for the Broadwater project. They identified gaps in the underlying Coast Guard safety analysis and asked FERC to obtain new information filling those gaps before issuing any final environmental impact statement.
Animal Rights and Wildlife Protection Senator Lieberman believes that the government has a responsibility to protect our non-human friends, as well as our citizens and residents. He has consistently supported legislation that seeks to end the abuse of animals in all circumstances and was proud to receive the Humane Appreciation Award in 2005 from the Humane Society of the United States recognizing his leadership and advocacy on animal protection issues. The Humane Society has given Senator Lieberman a 100-percent rating for his record on animal protection issues during the 108th and 109th Congress. In the 110th Congress, Senator Lieberman has worked hard to ensure that businesses protect the rights of animals and treat them in a morally responsible manner. He has cosponsored the Horse Protection Act (S. 311), which permanently prohibits the butchering of horses for human consumption, the Downed Animal and Food Protection Act (S. 394), which will require the humane slaughter of livestock that are too sick or injured to stand or walk, and the Downed Animal Enforcement Act (S. 2770), that would increase penalties for violating the Federal Meat Inspection Act. Senator Lieberman has also cosponsored a bill to prohibit dog fighting ventures (S. 1880) and the Animal Fighting Prohibition Enforcement Act (S. 261), which strengthens prohibitions against animal fighting. Senator Lieberman has long championed legislation to protect endangered species and wildlife and in the 110th Congress he was named Chairman of the Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee's Subcommittee on the Private Sector and Consumer Solutions to Global Warming and Wildlife Protection. In July 2007, he introduced the Multinational Species Reauthorization Act (S. 1832) which reauthorizes previous conservation acts and provide increased funding for the Multinational Species Conservation Fund. This bill became law in December 2007. In March 2007, Senator Lieberman introduced the Great Cats and Rare Canids Act (S. 1033). This bill supports conservation efforts to sustain 13 species of imperiled great cats and rare canids outside of North America. The House recently passed its own version of this bill and the EPW Committee is expected to take up this legislation in the near future. Senator Lieberman also supports the Polar Bear Protection Act (S. 1406) and the Endangered Species Recovery Act (S. 700).
During the 110th Congress, Senator Lieberman has signed on as a cosponsor of the Recycling Investment Saves Energy (RISE) Act, which was introduced by Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME). U.S. rates of recycling have become stagnant or are declining in some instances, resulting in shortages for U.S. manufacturing facilities. The purpose of the RISE Act is to invest in, and thus preserve and expand, the U.S. recycling industry. S. 1587 is currently pending consideration by the Senate committee on Finance. Senator Lieberman has also been the sponsor of legislation which established a National Recycling Day to encourage public awareness about recycling. The goal of "America Recycles Day" was to increase demand for the sagging market values of recyclables by encouraging Americans to buy recycled products and to educate all Americans about the environmental and economic benefits of recycling. On the first annual Recycling Day in 1991, Senator Lieberman joined Jolie Jones and the Take It Back Foundation in releasing a videotape and public service campaign on recycling, starring Bette Midler and Charlie Daniels. He encouraged schools to sponsor educational activities and communities to conduct training sessions on how recycling can help us preserve the Earth's natural resources. Senator Lieberman was pleased that former President Clinton played an important role in promoting recycling by issuing an Executive Order requiring federal agencies to buy recycled material.
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Federal Resources
Bill Tracking |
Enhancing America's energy security and curbing global warming are two of Senator Lieberman's top legislative priorities. He also continues fighting to protect Long Island Sound, reign in high energy costs, preserve Connecticut's special landscapes, and make sure the federal government fully implements the nation's environmental protection laws. 