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House takes aim at Big Oil, bolsters renewable energy

18 January 2007

The House successfully completed its agenda for the first 100 hours of the new Congress by passing the CLEAN Energy Act, H.R. 6, which would end special breaks for Big Oil and promote clean, domestic sources of energy.

U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee (D-Wash.), author of a broader energy bill called the New Apollo Energy Act, considers the legislation approved today the first step towards his vision for a new energy future.  “The American Revolution began at Concord; the aerospace revolution began at Kitty Hawk; and America’s clean energy revolution begins with this bill,” said Inslee in a speech on the House floor this afternoon.

“Today is the first step of the New Apollo Energy Project,” he continued.

By a vote of 264 to123, the House approved the legislation that would close tax loopholes and end tax breaks for oil and gas companies.  It also would require companies to pay their fair share for drilling oil and gas on federal land in the Gulf of Mexico and off the coast of Alaska. 

With an estimated $14 billion in savings from these reforms, the bill establishes a reserve to fund future legislation aimed at developing renewable energy and energy-efficiency technologies.

Inslee, a cosponsor of the CLEAN Energy Act, helped House Democratic leaders develop the bill’s so-called Strategic Energy Efficiency and Renewables Reserve.  He sits on two key panels with jurisdiction over a range of environmental and energy issues: the House Natural Resources and House Energy and Commerce committees.