To view Part 1 in the series, please click here.

To view Part 2 in the series, please click here.

On October 29, the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW) held its third and final day of hearings on S. 1733, the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act.  The committee took testimony from four panels of witnesses, with each panel providing a broad spectrum of perspectives on the issues.    

First Panel

Preston Chiaro, CEO of Energy Products Group and John Rowe, Chairman and CEO of Exelon Corporation, provided testimony from the industry perspective.  Mr. Chiaro explained that his group supports a strong, global climate agreement for the investment certainty it will bring.  Mr. Rowe highlighted his company’s recently-produced Exelon 2020, which he characterized as the only industry plan to offset carbon emissions by 2020.  Mr. Rowe focused on the need for cost containment mechanisms and advocated the inclusion of a definitive price collar on allowances to remove price uncertainty. 

Bon Winger, President of the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers; Mike Carey, President of the Ohio Coal Association; and Bob Stallman, President of the American Farm Bureau Federation focused on employment impacts of the proposed legislation.  Mr. Winger testified that blue collar jobs are diminishing and expressed the hope that blue collar jobs can flourish under S. 1733.  Mr. Carey, by contrast, warned that S. 1733 will kill jobs in the coal industry and bankrupt the communities that depend upon coal and expressed the view that new jobs created under the legislation would not be as high paying.  Mr. Stallman claimed that, because a cap-and-trade program would put a hole in the energy supply without providing a substitute, the U.S. agriculture sector will shrink “under any scenario.”

Finally, Dr. Willett Kempton, Professor of Marine Policy at the University of Delaware, encouraged the panel to focus on “new technologies that are carbon-free, large and near commercial production today.” Fred Krupp, President of the Environmental Defense Fund, encouraged the U.S. to move beyond technology creation to technology manufacturing.  He claimed that the U.S. currently lags behind other countries and is missing a great economic opportunity. 

Second Panel

Testifying on behalf of the Bipartisan Policy Center, Rep. Sherwood Boehlert (R- NY, retired) endorsed climate change legislation.  He endorsed requirements to establish emissions targets from transportation would provide a framework for performance driven federal transportation policies, linked to a set of clearly articulated goals, and accountable for results.  He stated that while the allowance set asides for the transportation sector are critical, they are still far below what the sector should receive based on the impact that investment in transportation could have on climate change. 

Similarly, American Public Transportation Association (APTA) President William Millar and Mike McKeever, Executive Director, Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG) supported the bill.  Mr. Miller praised the legislation for demonstrating a strong commitment to reducing emissions from the transportation sector and also suggested that the bill can be a major step forward in invigorating transportation infrastructure while drastically reducing its environmental impact.  In concluding his statement, Mr. Miller emphasized that the allowance revenue under the bill must supplement and not replace investments in transit under the surface transportation program and called for the committee to consider the reauthorization.  Mr. McKeever addressed the local planning requirements under the bill that would promote sustainable communities.  He asserted that creating more livable committees would result in a number of benefits, including energy saving, congestion relief, increased productivity, efficient land use, environment and health benefits.

Testifying on behalf of the American Truckers Association, Barbara Windsor, President & Chief Executive Officer, Hahn Transportation, Inc., objected that the legislation would add costs to an already burdened industry.  She commented that while the industry supports the objectives of EPA regulations to control emissions, gains had come at substantial cost to trucking fleets.  She emphasized that the increased fuel prices under the bill, meant to reduce VMTs, would only raise costs for the industry because trucking is not discretionary driving.  She asserted finally that biodiesel and natural gas fuels are not currently viable to replace diesel. 

Third Panel

John Podesta, President and CEO for the Center for American Progress, argued that the U.S. should pass a bill and send a signal to the world that the “U.S. will seize the economic opportunity of the 21^st century.”  He suggested that S. 1733 include a clean energy deployment administration, a “green bank” and additional emphasis on efficiency retrofits.  Mr. Podesta maintained that more can be done to expand the use of natural gas, and suggested the committee look at language in the Nat Gas Act and borrow from that legislation.

Ned Helme, President of the Center for Clean Air Policy, argued that, in contrast to the Kyoto Protocol, developing nations are now committed to taking nationally appropriate mitigation actions funded by developed nations.  He supported the development of international standards to measure, report and verify emission reductions. 

Jonathan Lash, President of the World Resources Institute, maintained that committing to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and developing an international agreement to the same effect is in the economic, environmental and security self interest of the country.   

Iain Murray, Vice-President for Strategy at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, cited the struggle of European countries to meet emission targets, despite reductions resulting from the economic downturn.  He argued that the E.U. emissions trading scheme has been very expensive and has failed to produce emission reductions.   

Fourth Panel

Linda Adams, Secretary of the California Environmental Protection Agency, said that California has experienced an economic gain following the implementation of clean energy technologies, including the addition of 125,000 new jobs.  She argued that state authority to implement climate change measures should be preserved and matched by national policies. 

Dave Johnson, Organizing Director for the Laborer’s International Union of North America, argued for the inclusion of carbon capture and sequestration, natural gas and nuclear technologies as part of the solution to climate change.   

J. Stephan Dolezalek, Managing Director for Vantage Point Venture Partners, explained that Vantage Point has the largest position in the venture capital industry in the country, with stakes in solar, vehicle electrification and other sectors.  He warned that if the U.S. does not commit to strong policies, it will become as dependent in the future on foreign renewable energy as it is dependent now on imported oil.   

Additional witnesses on this panel included David Hawkins; Eugen Trisko, speaking on behalf of the United Mine Workers of America; Director of the Climate Center for the Natural Resources Defense Council Matt Smorch; Vice President of Strategic Planning for CountryMark; and Paul Cicio, Executive Director for the Industrial Energy Consumers of America.  Mr. Hawkins urged the committee to adopt “strong” legislation, while the remaining three witnesses warned of potential dislocations from a cap-and-trade system.

For further information about this topic, please contact Akin Gump.