Bipartisan measure supported by consumers, industry, labor

Washington, D.C. -- Congressman Neil Abercrombie today urged fellow lawmakers and supporters of alternative energy to support a bipartisan measure that would raise billions of dollars in revenues for environmental restoration projects, renewable energy research and low-income Americans needing help to pay for winter heating bills.

Abercrombie (D-Hawaii) has joined Congressman John E. Peterson (R-Pennsylvania) as primary cosponsors of the National Environment and Energy Development (NEED) Act, a bill that would allow for much needed U.S. natural gas production on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS).

“The allocation of royalties from the production of clean, safe, abundant and accessible natural gas will create the first dedicated funding source – projected in the billions of dollars – for environmental clean-up and restoration,” said Abercrombie. “Natural gas is the bridge to a future in which we rely on alternative energy and American fuels instead of imported oil.

“With natural gas prices and demand continuing to rise almost exponentially, our country and so many American jobs are on a pathway toward irrecoverable economic damage. Unfortunately, we are already seeing too many jobs leaving our shores because we are not producing energy here at home. This bill is the best shot to securing America’s increasing long-term energy and economic needs,” said Peterson. “What makes this bill so different than other ‘energy’ bills is that it actually produces energy, while encouraging the protection and continued safeguard of some of America’s most treasured environmental gems.”

Conservative estimates indicate that this measure would raise over $400 billion in revenues. Revenues would be partially directed to producing states, as well as the U.S. Treasury. The bill also specifically directs $64 billion to renewable energy research and an estimated $86 billion in royalties to various environmental restoration reserves across the country, including the Chesapeake Bay, Great Lakes, Everglades, Colorado River Basin and San Francisco Bay Restoration Reserves, Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), a federal account to help low-income Americans pay winter heating bills, weatherization, and to renewable energy research funds will also be royalty recipients.

Currently, two separate, but largely overlapping, moratoria prevent energy exploration along more than 85 percent of the federal OCS. One is congressional and the other is presidential, first adopted in 1990 by President George H.W. Bush and later extended by Presidents Clinton and George W. Bush.

The NEED Act – H.R. 2784 – seeks to lift the congressional and presidential moratoria on of natural gas production offshore. The Peterson-Abercrombie measure would provide states the right to drill off their coasts, ultimately ensuring states’ rights. The bill ensures that states control the first 100 miles of the OCS. The first 25 miles would be off-limits, while the 100 mile mark and out would be opened for drilling effective immediately upon enactment.

The measure includes strong labor provisions, backed by the United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices in the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry.

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