[greenyes] Energy Bill: What will it really cost?

["Doug Koplow" <koplow@no.address>]

Dear Colleagues,

Each day rumors of the Energy Policy Act emerging for another vote percolate forth from Washington.  If (more likely when) the bill once again surfaces, it will likely be a mere day or so before it is put up for vote.  It will be difficult to evaluate the legislation in that available time.

In the interim, the limited word from the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources is one of slimming down the pork to create a "leaner" and more focused bill.  Press articles suggest its $31 billion official price tag will be cut in half.

SUMMARY OF BILL COSTS AND IMPACTS

Unfortunately, this is mostly fantasy.  Many of the official estimates were done, by their own admission, fairly quickly and with a very limited scope.  There is much that they do not capture, from program costs that are authorized though not yet appropriated (these are now being counted at zero), to uncosted loan guarantees, program extensions, mandated direct spending, and liability caps and waivers.

To assist others in understanding and countering the various claims about the cost of the bill, Earth Track has just posted "Tallying the Cost of HR 6:  Environmental and Fiscal Impacts of Selected Provisions."  The document provides a concise discussion of the various cost estimates for the overall bill, and the specific elements we've analyzed that are likely to cause the most harm to our fiscal, environmental or energy situation.

Discussion:
http://www.earthtrack.net/earthtrack/index.asp?page_id=168&catid=76

Associated Data Table:
http://www.earthtrack.net/earthtrack/library/HR6%20Total%20Costs.pdf 

CONSIDER ADDING EARTH TRACK AS A LINK:

If you have found this summary, and other Earth Track assessments of the energy legislation helpful, we hope that you will consider having your organization add a link to our energy bill web page on your own web site.  Doing so will greatly help in making others aware of this work.  The url to link  to is:

http://www.earthtrack.net/earthtrack/index.asp?catid=76 

HISTORICAL STUDIES OF U.S. ENERGY SUBSIDIES

We are gradually adding historical studies on energy subsidies to our website.  Look for new links to them from the Energy Bill web page over the next couple of weeks.   While some of the subsidy values may be out of date, many of the core issues associated with subsidy identification, valuation, and reform remain extremely timely.  If you are aware of relevant work available in electronic format, please let us know.

Regards,

Doug Koplow

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_______________________________
Doug Koplow
Earth Track, Inc.
2067 Massachusetts Avenue - 4th Floor
Cambridge, MA  02140
www.earthtrack.net
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