The House Energy Bill and New Hampshire

The bill the US House passed repeals eighteen billion dollars in tax breaks for oil companies and invests the savings in renewable and alternative energy companies.

First District Democratic Congresswoman Carol Shea Porter says the bill is vital as the economy teeters towards recession.

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“It’s a jobs creation bill, any time you start creating a market, you start creating jobs for that market and for that industry.”

This is the fourth time the House has voted to pass this legislation.

And many Republicans say the majority party is just playing politics by voting on it again.

They say House Democrats should realize the bill isn’t going to pass in the Senate.

But Shea Porter says the outcome in that chamber isn’t the Houses’ business.

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“What the Senate chooses to do with it will be their decision inside their building, but we are doing the right thing. So we should not say we won’t do it because we can’t get something through the Senate, because that’s not a good way to legislate.”

The majority of Republicans, President Bush included, say the bill does nothing to decrease the high cost of oil.

They also say it amounts to a massive tax increase for oil companies.

But Second District Democratic Congressman Paul Hodes disagrees.

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“That’s ridiculous this is not a tax increase. This is putting our money where our mouth is and investing in the future.”

Hodes says he sees the bill as a continuation of the tax breaks, just moving them away from the oil industry.

There are provisions in the bill that give incentives to homeowners to retrofit their homes with wood pellet stoves and better insulation.

Hodes says the move away from fossil fuels is a necessity.

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“We want a twenty first century oil policy. The oil companies, the big oil companies are making unseemly profits off high energy prices. So its time to shift our priorities to renewable and alternative energies.”

Last time the bill was up it failed in the Senate by one vote.

Both of New Hampshire's Republican Senators opposed the legislation then, but they both say they support new tax credits for renewables.

The previous vote was procedural and would have moved the energy proposal forward.

They say they opposed it because they thought the provision would have killed the entire energy package it was attached to.

Many analysts are skeptical of the current House bill's future, though some are optimistic.

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“This is still in play.”

That’s Melinda Pierce who covers legislation for the Sierra Club.

She says political pressure has increased since the Senate vote in December.

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“I think it is the climate under which this is being debated. Folks are feeling the pinch at the pump, folks in New Hampshire are no doubt facing some high home heating bills. Eventually, this kind of public pressure has got to translate into finally passing some resolution in Congress.”

Pierce says the bill has a chance if Senate leadership can effectively tweak it.

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“As it goes over to the Senate it may be modified in a way to get these last votes as a way of getting these last votes, so some of these incentives that are wildly popular might get across the finish line.”

She says the Senate may want to decrease the size of the oil company subsidy cuts.

New Hampshire Republican Senator Judd Gregg says he supports repealing the tax breaks for oil.

But he says the House bill needs to be whittled down to get it passed in the Senate.

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“Well it depends on how narrow it is. You may be able to address a few areas, but the broader you get the more opponents you get into the game.”

And the opponents are strong.

Oil is a major part of the economy in many states . . . states with powerful lawmakers, like Alaska and Texas.

Then there are also the coal states.

Their lawmakers want investments in new cleaner coal technologies.

They will hold out until they get some federal investments.

All these competing interests will converge when the bill makes it to the Senate – making its passage difficult . . . if not impossible.

For NHPR News I’m Matt Laslo in Washington