Chamber Says Energy Bill 'Turns Off the Lights' on American Energy Supply

WASHINGTON, D.C.-The U.S. Chamber of Commerce today reinforced its opposition to House-passed energy legislation H.R. 6, Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007." According to the Chamber, this bill would create unobtainable standards for renewable resources of energy and require unreasonable tax provisions.

"This legislation would turn off the lights on the country's energy supply," said Bill Kovacs, Chamber vice president of Environment, Technology and Regulatory Affairs.

The bill would immediately mandate that 15% of electricity generated in the United States come from renewable sources, like solar and wind. According to U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates, this standard would require consumers to pay $1 billion to $2 billion more for electricity. Also, the bill would establish a Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) for 36 billion gallons by 2022, 21 billion of which would come from non-corn-based ethanol. Among other things, the United States lacks the infrastructure to transport this amount of ethanol, and little attention has been given to the environmental and economic impacts of such a requirement.

Further, the bill would discourage investment in domestic energy exploration and production activities by levying $21.5 billion in oil industry taxes. This would impede domestic energy investment, result in the loss of U.S. jobs, place domestic oil and gas companies at a competitive disadvantage to foreign oil and gas companies, and, ultimately, decrease supply and increase energy costs for businesses.

"It's discouraging to think that after months of work by Congress and years of research and development by the energy industry that this is the best our lawmakers can do," continued Kovacs. "The time for sensible solutions to our nation's energy needs is now."

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world's largest business federation representing more than 3 million businesses and organizations of every size, sector, and region.

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