Signed by President George Bush

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to adopt a conference report that develops an energy policy that addresses tax incentives, conservation strategies, regulatory standards, research and development programs, energy efficiency, and alternative sources of energy.

Highlights:

• Extends daylight savings time by four weeks, effective March 1, 2007; Congress reserves the right to revert back to the old schedule if reports do not show improvement in energy use (Sec. 110).

• Appropriates $1.8 billion over three years for "weatherization assistance," which provides low-income families with the means to reduce the cost of energy bills by making their homes more energy efficient (Sec. 122).

• Appropriates $15.3 billion over three years for the "Low Income Home Energy Assistance" program (Sec. 126).

• Appropriates $2.23 billion for research, development and commercial applications of renewable energy in the forms of solar power, geothermal energy, wind power and hydropower (Sec. 201).

• Authorizes the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to certify any qualified person who submits an application as the Electric Reliability Organization, to develop and enforce federal standards for a dependable electric transmission grid (Sec. 215).

• Requires the Secretary of Energy to fill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to its capacity of one billion gallons (Sec. 301).

• Bans drilling for oil or natural gas in or under any of the Great Lakes (Sec. 386).

• Appropriates $1.8 billion over nine years for the "Clean Coal Power Initiative" (Sec. 401).

• $220 million over 11 years to finance competitive grants as well as education and conservation programs under the newly created Office of Indian Energy Policy and Programs (Sec. 502).

• Amends the Price-Anderson Act, extending it through 2025, raising nuclear power plant operators' liability from $6.3 million to $95.8 million, and increasing the maximum annual payments to $15 million from $10 million (Sec. 601-610).

• Offers up to $2 billion in "risk" support to individuals who have invested in new advanced nuclear facilities to cover costs incurred during certain construction delays (Sec. 638).

• Appropriates $1.25 billion over 10 years to finance the "Next Generation Nuclear Plant Project," a two-phase plan to research, develop and operate a prototype nuclear plant that includes a reactor capable of generating electricity, producing hydrogen, or both (Secs. 641-645).

• Appropriates $13.94 billion to the Secretary of Energy to carry out research, development and commercial activities under the Office of Science, including $1.11 billion for the "Fusion Energy Sciences" program (Sec. 971).

• Extends the availability of the renewable electricity production credit to 2008 (Sec. 1301).

• Offers tax credits on certain residential appliances, including dishwashers, clothes washers and refrigerators (Sec. 1334).

• Offers a tax credit of 10 percent of the expense incurred by home-owners who make qualified energy-efficient improvements to their homes through 2007 (Sec. 1335).

• Offers tax credits ranging from $4,000 to $40,000 (based on weight) on the purchase of new, qualified fuel cell motor vehicles (Sec. 1341).

• Requires a gradual increase of the amount of ethanol that is added to gasoline from four billion gallons in 2006 to a minimum of seven and a half billion gallons by 2012 (Sec. 1501).

Full Bill Text

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to adopt a conference report that develops an energy policy that addresses tax incentives, conservation strategies, regulatory standards, research and development programs, energy efficiency, and alternative sources of energy.

Highlights:

• Extends daylight savings time by four weeks, effective March 1, 2007; Congress reserves the right to revert back to the old schedule if reports do not show improvement in energy use (Sec. 110).

• Appropriates $1.8 billion over three years for "weatherization assistance," which provides low-income families with the means to reduce the cost of energy bills by making their homes more energy efficient (Sec. 122).

• Appropriates $15.3 billion over three years for the "Low Income Home Energy Assistance" program (Sec. 126).

• Appropriates $2.23 billion for research, development and commercial applications of renewable energy in the forms of solar power, geothermal energy, wind power and hydropower (Sec. 201).

• Authorizes the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to certify any qualified person who submits an application as the Electric Reliability Organization, to develop and enforce federal standards for a dependable electric transmission grid (Sec. 215).

• Requires the Secretary of Energy to fill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to its capacity of one billion gallons (Sec. 301).

• Bans drilling for oil or natural gas in or under any of the Great Lakes (Sec. 386).

• Appropriates $1.8 billion over nine years for the "Clean Coal Power Initiative" (Sec. 401).

• $220 million over 11 years to finance competitive grants as well as education and conservation programs under the newly created Office of Indian Energy Policy and Programs (Sec. 502).

• Amends the Price-Anderson Act, extending it through 2025, raising nuclear power plant operators' liability from $6.3 million to $95.8 million, and increasing the maximum annual payments to $15 million from $10 million (Sec. 601-610).

• Offers up to $2 billion in "risk" support to individuals who have invested in new advanced nuclear facilities to cover costs incurred during certain construction delays (Sec. 638).

• Appropriates $1.25 billion over 10 years to finance the "Next Generation Nuclear Plant Project," a two-phase plan to research, develop and operate a prototype nuclear plant that includes a reactor capable of generating electricity, producing hydrogen, or both (Secs. 641-645).

• Appropriates $13.94 billion to the Secretary of Energy to carry out research, development and commercial activities under the Office of Science, including $1.11 billion for the "Fusion Energy Sciences" program (Sec. 971).

• Extends the availability of the renewable electricity production credit to 2008 (Sec. 1301).

• Offers tax credits on certain residential appliances, including dishwashers, clothes washers and refrigerators (Sec. 1334).

• Offers a tax credit of 10 percent of the expense incurred by home-owners who make qualified energy-efficient improvements to their homes through 2007 (Sec. 1335).

• Offers tax credits ranging from $4,000 to $40,000 (based on weight) on the purchase of new, qualified fuel cell motor vehicles (Sec. 1341).

• Requires a gradual increase of the amount of ethanol that is added to gasoline from four billion gallons in 2006 to a minimum of seven and a half billion gallons by 2012 (Sec. 1501).

Full Bill Text

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill to develop a comprehensive energy policy that addresses regulatory standards, tax incentives, conservation, domestic production, energy efficiency, alternative resources, and other issues affecting the energy industry and consumers.

Highlights:

• Appropriates $1.23 billion over three years for weatherization assistance, which provides low-income families with the means to reduce the cost of energy bills by making their homes more energy-efficient (Sec. 121).

• Directs the President, within one year of enactment, to develop and implement plans to reduce the United States' demand for petroleum by one million barrels per day from the amount projected for 2015 (Sec. 151).

• Requires a gradual increase in the amount of renewable fuels used in gasoline, such as ethanol, from four billion gallons in 2006 to at least eight billion gallons in 2012 (Sec. 211).

• Eliminates methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) from the U.S. fuel supply, with a goal of increasing production and use of renewable fuel, and thus increasing the nation's energy independence (Sec. 223).

• Appropriates $1 billion in grants through FY 2008 to aid merchant producers of MTBE during the transition to eliminate the gasoline additive (Sec. 223).

• Coordinates an Outer Continental Shelf mapping initiative, as well as a federal inventory of natural gas and oil reserves located in that area (Sec. 321).

• Appropriates $200 million over 11 years to finance competitive grants and programs under the newly created Office of Indian Energy Policy and Programs (Sec. 502).

• Establishes a renewable portfolio standard, which requires energy suppliers to obtain at least 10 percent of their supply from renewable sources by 2020 (Sec. 609).

• Provides 'whistle-blower' protection for contract and agency employees at the Department of Energy (Sec. 625).

• Imposes additional considerations on the Secretary of Transportation for improving automobile fuel economy and reducing vehicle emissions (Sec. 704).

• Creates an interagency Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technical Task Force to work with the Secretary of Energy, and authorizes $1.3 billion over five years to the Task Force and Secretary to carry out developmental hydrogen and fuel cell system demonstrations (Sec. 801).

• Appropriates $1.98 billion over three years for renewable energy research, development, and commercial applications (Sec. 931).

• Appropriates $18 million over three years for nuclear energy research programs, including one that examines designs for high-temperature reactors capable of producing pure hydrogen (Sec. 945).

• Appropriates $13.74 billion over three years to the Department of Energy and the Office of Science for research and development, including $1.1 billion for activities under the Fusion Energy Sciences program (Secs. 961-962).

• Authorizes the use of eminent domain to construct new or to modify existing electric transmission facilities where electric energy transmission is deemed constrained or congested by the Secretary of Energy (Sec. 1221).

• Offers tax incentives, including credits ranging from $4,000 to $40,000 on the purchase of new, qualified fuel cell motor vehicles; credits on certain residential appliances, including dishwashers, clothes washers and refrigerators; and an extension of the renewable electricity production credit until 2009, and a modification that includes fuel cells (Secs. 1501, 1526, 1531)

• Provides for the promotion and the adoption of technologies that reduce greenhouse gas intensity in the U.S. and developing countries, while providing credit-based financial assistance for projects that employ advanced climate technologies or systems within the U.S. (Secs. 1501-1549).

Full Bill Text

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill to develop a broad energy policy that addresses regulatory standards, tax incentives, conservation, domestic production, energy efficiency, alternative resources, and other issues affecting the energy industries and consumers.

Highlights:

• Appropriates $8.1 billion in energy tax breaks for traditional energy producers over a period of 10 years to encourage increased domestic energy production.

• Begins day-light savings time earlier, so it starts on the first Sunday in March and ends on the last Sunday in November (Sec. 111).

• Appropriates $15.3 billion over three years for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance program (Sec. 121).

• Appropriates $1.32 billion over ten years for research and development of nuclear technologies that produce hydrogen (Sec. 251).

• Grants the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission override authority over state and local governments in deciding where to locate liquefied natural gas import terminals (Sec. 330).

• Appropriates $1.8 billion over eight years for the Clean Coal Power Initiative and other clean power and energy research (Secs. 401-404).

• Appropriates $4 billion over five years to provide assistance in the development of hydrogen-powered vehicles and the infrastructure required to assure the widespread availability and safety of hydrogen fuel (Sec. 803).

• Sets guidelines to improve the operation and reliability of electric transmission networks (Secs. 1221-1227).

• Repeals the Public Utility Holding Company Act, which prohibited companies from outside the power-utility sector from having controlling stakes in utilities (Sec. 1263).

• Offers up to $2,000 in tax credits to individual homeowners who install energy-efficient windows, doors and insulation in their homes (Sec. 1311).

• Shields manufacturers of the gasoline additive methyl tertiary butyl ether from liability lawsuits concerning contamination of drinking water (Sec. 1502).

• Appropriates $2 billion over eight years to offset costs accrued by manufacturers of the gasoline additive methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) as they phase out production in preparation for a complete ban on MTBE in 2012 (Sec. 1503).

• Allows oil and gas exploration development and production in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, but stipulates that leasing shall not commence until at least 22 months after the bill's enactment (Secs. 2203-2207).

• Appropriates $2 billion for subsidizing development of oil and gas production in the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico (Sec. 2004).

Full Bill Text

Full Bill Text