Energy Policy Modernization Act of 2015

Floor Speech

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Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, it is good to welcome the Presiding Officer back to Washington, DC. This Senator knows that the Presiding Officer was back home in Alaska, and while they may not have had snow, they got everybody else's attention with a 7.1 earthquake. I know it was an interesting weekend for the Presiding Officer as well.

Mr. President, I am on the Senate floor this morning with a fair amount of excitement and enthusiasm. We are beginning the debate on energy reform legislation, S. 2012, the Energy Policy Modernization Act. This is the first time the Senate has debated energy policy reform in more than 8 years. It has been more than 8 years since we have had this kind of debate.

I was here yesterday morning and had an opportunity to open the session. I opened the session and Senator Collins was the Presiding Officer in the chair. It was one of those interesting mornings where everybody else seemed to be female on the floor, and the press has taken note of that. But that is not my point.

I left the floor and went out in the hallway where there was a group of eight or nine young kids with a fellow who works on the House side. I think he was giving them a little bit of a field trip, but I think he had kid duty because so many schools were still closed on account of the incredible amount of snow we got in Washington. I had a fabulous conversation with the kids who at that age are excited about being in the Capitol and understanding the difference between a House Member and a Senate Member.

They asked: Well, what are you working on?

I said: It is really exciting because we are going to be taking up energy reform legislation that we have not done in a long time.

I asked the kids when they were born, and one little girl said 2007. I said that 2007 was the last time we had energy legislation on the floor.

And since it sometimes helps to understand the passage of time in relation to our kids I said: Look what has happened to you in the 8 years since you were born. You have grown, gotten smarter, and been exposed to a lot of things.

Debate on energy legislation is long overdue on the floor of this Senate. This is a good bill, it is a timely bill, and it is a bipartisan bill. It deserves overwhelming support from this Chamber. I was encouraged by the minority leader's comments and his encouragement that through the process that we have built on the energy committee to move out a bipartisan bill, it should enjoy the respect of good debate as we move forward to again attempt to modernize our energy policies.

At the beginning, I acknowledge the good and strong and very cooperative work I have received from my ranking member Senator Cantwell from the State of Washington and thank her for helping me craft this bill because it was truly a joint effort. It was a very collaborative effort. I also thank the other members of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee for all the ideas they brought to bear and the support we have received from them bringing the bill to this point.

To give folks a little bit of a background on how we came to have this Energy bill--the first real substantive legislation we have had here in 2016--it is worthwhile to talk about the process of how we got it because that in and of itself is a little bit unusual nowadays.

To segue just a moment, because it was last year at this time that Senator Cantwell and I were managing the floor when we had the Keystone XL debate. It was the first time in a long time we had seen regular order with a full-on amendment process. A lot of people did not even know how to process these amendments. We worked through some 40-odd amendments, and got everybody's attention that we can actually move a bill. It had some level of controversy. We did not obviously agree with many aspects of it, but we moved through a process.

Well, it is January again, and the women are back at work. I am hopeful the collaborative effort that got this bipartisan bill to the floor today will be reflected in the debate that goes forward. Senator Cantwell and I sat down last January, when I became the chairman of the committee, and we talked about goals and priorities--what we were looking for. We both said it was well past time to update our energy policies, to do a scrub, to do an overhaul. We had a conversation about how we might go about it because there were a couple of ways we could proceed. I could have drafted my own bill with my own priorities and tried to get the votes that I needed to move it out of committee, but if you do not have the support beyond your side of the aisle, it is going to be tough to be able to advance it to the floor and get it enacted into law. Senator Cantwell could have done the same. She could have moved her own bill. We could have done messaging bills, but we both agreed we are well past the time for messaging. We need to be legislating and governing in the energy space, and in order to do it, it is going to take some cooperation, collaboration, and conversation. That is where we started.

I went around to colleagues on the committee and began conversations with them about their energy-related priorities. These conversations continued between our staffs. Our staffs also held dozens of bipartisan listening sessions with stakeholders. We held them in Washington, DC. We held them in other parts of the country. We held one hearing in Kwigillingok, AK. The Presiding Officer knows where that is. Most others know it as only some faraway village in Alaska, but I mention this as it speaks to the level of outreach for which we strived.

After our listening sessions, we came back and really rolled up our sleeves. We held four oversight hearings and began with a 30,000-foot- look about where we are in different energy spaces. We had our oversight hearings.

Then we moved down to six legislative hearings on a total of 114 different bills. These were 114 different bills that were not necessarily introduced by just Members of the energy committee. These were bills that were introduced by Republicans and Democrats throughout the Senate and some House Members' bills that we had seen as well. We took the testimony that we received from experts, advocates, private citizens, administration officials, and from our home States and just about every other State. We gathered all the perspectives that we could about what Congress should do and what Congress needs to do to ensure that our Federal policies keep up with the years of change in energy markets and energy technologies.

One simple case in point that reminds us of this 8-year passage of time is this. Eight years ago when we talked about LNG, what we were talking about was seeing if we could structure our LNG terminals so they could be import terminals. Think about where we are now. We are talking about how we export our LNG, how we can move it to share our energy wealth with others. That is a prime example of making sure that what is happening within our energy markets, what is happening within our energy technologies is consistent with what our policies, our laws, and our regulations allow.

After we did all this gathering of information, we entered weeks of bipartisan negotiations to determine which bills should be incorporated into our draft text. From the 114 measures, we took 50 different bills. As one flips through the 400-some-odd pages of this Energy Policy Modernization Act, you will see bits and pieces of 50 different measures offered by colleagues--Republicans and Democrats--offered throughout the Senate.

Senator Portman and Senator Shaheen have been leaders on energy efficiency and we were able to incorporate a number of ideas in the energy efficiency title of our bill. You will also see incorporated in it the critical minerals bill that I have been working on for years now. Again, we are not just taking the ideas from this Senator from Alaska or the Senator from Washington and introducing a bill for consideration, we have solicited others for ideas and input as well.

The last step on the committee was when we went to markup. We held 3 days of markup, which is a pretty good time to spend in committee. We dispensed with nearly 59 amendments and because of that very collaborative process we solicited ideas from all sides. When it came to reporting the bill out of committee we ended up passing it out by a significant 18-to-4 vote. We agreed to report the Energy bill to the full Senate for further consideration, and that is how we got to where we are today.

I wish I could say we would see more of this type of collaborative effort in the Senate. We do not see this all the time. We did see it last year, and where we have seen legislative success is worth noting.

The Education bill that was shepherded by Senator Alexander and Senator Murray was also a very collaborative process. I serve on the HELP Committee. I sat through the many hours of debate and oversight and markups. We were able to advance that bipartisan bill to the floor--a bill that moved out of the committee unanimously--and we were able to advance it to the floor where it enjoyed strong bipartisan support, went to conference with the House, and has now been signed into law.

Another area where the leaders worked cooperatively and collaboratively--I commend Senator Boxer and Senator Inhofe for what they did on the highway bill. They worked through the issues that were not easy but were absolutely necessary to get a longer term highway transportation bill. That does not happen if you just elbow your way through. It comes when you work together. I think we have demonstrated on the energy committee that we have done just that--working collaboratively.

I have said many times that the Energy Policy Modernization Act is not the bill I would have drafted if it were just up to me, and it is not the bill Senator Cantwell would have drafted if it were just up to her. The bill is not exactly the way any one of us would have drafted it if it was up to just one of us. It is a bill we wrote together. We wrote it as a committee. We wrote it as a team and as a group of 22 Senators who care very deeply about our Nation's energy policies.

As Members are coming back, as they are looking at this bill, I urge them to look at what is in the bill and where we have been able to find the common ground. Look and analyze that because I can guarantee you are going to find things that are not in there that you wish were there and you are going to say: Lisa, how come my X, Y, or Z is not part of this bill?

That is true. There is some X, Y, and Z that is not in this bill that I would really like. I know there are items the Presiding Officer would really like--the two of us being Senators from Alaska--but we do not have then opportunity to build a consensus on some of those issues right here, right now. So can we agree that what we have built with this bill advances our energy policies, brings us more up to speed, and loosens the choke hold we have in certain areas?

We spent months modernizing our energy policies and addressing both opportunities and challenges, and we found common ground in many areas. I think we found common ground in more areas than we actually expected when we started this process--certainly enough to write a good, solid bill. We ultimately organized our efforts into five main titles. We have efficiency, infrastructure, supply, accountability, and conservation.

We agreed to include the Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act. This is the efficiency measure which I mentioned just a moment ago which Senator Portman and Senator Shaheen have been leading for years. I think it is very important that we were able to incorporate the good work of the Senators from Ohio and New Hampshire, along with the support of 13 other Members, for inclusion in this bill.

We also agreed to include the LNG Permitting Certainty and Transparency Act. This act was led by Senator Barrasso, and 17 other Members joined with him on that very important measure.

We agreed to include my American Mineral Security Act, which is the critical minerals bill sponsored by Senator Risch of Idaho, Senator Crapo of Idaho, and Senator Heller of Nevada. Again, it is a piece that I think many would agree is vitally important. Having greater control of these important minerals is critical to our country's energy security and we must not subject ourselves to complete reliance on others as sources for their supply. We do not want to go down the same road we have been down, for instance, with oil historically when we are talking about our critical minerals. This is a huge issue for us.

We agreed to promote the use of clean, renewable hydropower, which is a priority for Members from Western States, including Senator Gardner, who helped lead, Senator Daines, Senator Cantwell, and me.

We agreed to expedite the permitting of natural gas pipelines without sacrificing any environmental review or public participation. This was an effort that was led by Senator Capito of West Virginia.

We agreed to a new pilot program for oil and gas permitting. This was one of many good ideas Senator Hoeven of North Dakota advanced.

We took up a proposal from Senator Collins of Maine to boost efficiency within our schools. I think we all recognize this is an area where we can and should try to do a little bit more. It saves us in the long run.

Senator Klobuchar of Minnesota had a measure to increase the efficiency of buildings that are owned by nonprofits.

We agreed to improve our Nation's cyber security--an issue we are all very keyed in on. This was from legislation that was originally presented by Senator Risch of Idaho and Senator Heinrich of New Mexico. We saw an amendment from Senator Flake on this topic as well.

We made innovation a key priority in our bill, with a recognition that there is a limited but very useful role for the Federal Government to play early on in the development of new technologies.

I just came from a meeting this morning, a summit on advanced nuclear technologies. We spent a good part of the summit recognizing that when you talk about nuclear and the future, innovation is key to what we are building.

We agreed to reauthorize many of the energy-related portions of the America COMPETES Act. You will recall that this was the measure Senator Alexander has advanced in the past. We took those energy-related pieces and incorporated them in the bill.

In some of the areas of renewable, geothermal is one that I believe has enormous potential. We certainly have that potential in the State of Alaska, but we also have it in other Western States. This was a big priority for Senator Wyden and Senator Heller. Senator Wyden's legislation and the ideas he has advanced have been key.

We agreed to promote vehicle innovation. This was a priority for Senator Peters of Michigan, Senator Stabenow of Michigan, and Senator Alexander of Tennessee so we were able to enhance that discussion on vehicle innovation.

We agreed to renew the coal R&D program at the Department of Energy. This was based on a proposal that was advanced by the Senators from West Virginia, Senator Manchin and Senator Capito, but Senator Portman was also key to helping advance this.

We agreed to help protect reliability within the electric sector--an incredibly important part of what we do within this legislation.

We reform the Loan Guarantee Program at the Department of Energy. Many of us believe strongly that reforms were necessary, and we have done just that to ensure that we do not have taxpayers at risk with certain aspects of that program.

We agreed to reauthorize the Land and Water Conservation Fund. As folks will recall, that authorization expired toward the end of last year. Within the omnibus, we successfully advanced a 3-year extension, but what we did within the committee was we advanced permanent authorization of LWCF with some reforms--reforms that were endorsed by the full committee.

We have a provision in there as well that helps to address the maintenance backlog within our national park system. People understand that this year is the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service. It is something worthy of celebration. Unfortunately, we have a real black eye when it comes to maintenance and upkeep of our parks, so we have reviewed that issue and said we need to make steps to help address that in a way that is constructive.

There is a section of the bill nobody will talk about. The press does not care to report about it, but I think it is a very good section. Recognizing the Presiding Officer's interest in regulatory reform, he will be pleased to know we cleaned up the United States Code. We delete dozens of provisions within the Code that are either obsolete or duplicative. We get these programs on the books, we put requirements for a study into law, and as long as they are still there--even though no one is reading that report anymore, even though those programs are now obsolete because of what has gone on, they are still on the books. So if you are worried about government spending and you are looking at the conservative reason to embrace what we are doing, take a look at some of the provisions we got rid of. They are old, they are outdated, and they are obsolete.

This is just a sample of the good work we have included within the bipartisan bill.

Many of the Members I listed are responsible for not just one provision but for multiple provisions throughout the bill. It was truly a team effort as we worked this through. We were counting up different parts of the bill on which we have seen Members contribute, and more than half of the Members of this Senate are sponsors or cosponsors of at least one provision in the bill as we stand here today. Again, I think that is representative of the process in which Senator Cantwell and I have engaged.

You may say: OK, you had a very thorough process. What is in it? What good is it? What does it mean to me? How is this going to help our country from an energy policy perspective? How is it going to make sure that when we talk about energy security translating into economic security and national security--how does this all bind together? What does this do? How does this help our people?

There are many practical benefits to modernizing our energy policy, and I will start with the first obvious one. Every time you do upgrades, whether within your house or your business, you become more efficient. For example, we recently replaced the windows in our house. Not only did it make the house look a little bit better, but we are paying less on utility bills. My husband just found a good deal on LEDs, and he replaced all the lightbulbs in the house. He is all excited about it because it is going to reduce his costs. He is worried about costs. We should all be worried about costs. This bill helps us reduce our costs.

This bill also allows us a cleaner energy future because when you modernize your infrastructure, when you use less, you reduce much of your emissions. So for those who will be critical and say ``By gosh, you didn't fix the issue of climate change,'' look through this bill and tell me it does not make for a cleaner energy future for this country.

This bill helps us to produce more energy and to be less reliant on others. It helps Americans save energy. Again, when we save energy, we save money and there is a more efficient environment. It will help ensure that our energy can be transported from where it is produced to where it is needed. That is a big challenge we have nowadays. It will bolster our status as the most innovative Nation in the world. Why shouldn't we be the most innovative Nation in the world when it comes to energy? We have the resources here. Let us develop the technologies that will allow us to access them in a way that is responsible, with good environmental stewardship, that creates jobs, that creates economic opportunities, and that truly allows us to be more energy- resilient. Why shouldn't we be the innovators and the leaders? Let us not cede that to anyone.

Our bill will allow manufacturers to thrive without the fear of high costs or crippling shortages, and it will cement our status as a global energy superpower as we provide a share of our surplus to our allies and trading partners. Is not that a nice thing to know, that not only can our energy be good for us and for America, it can be good from a geopolitical perspective? That we can help our friends and allies?

When you think about the energy security, the economic security, and the national security that come with energy, that is where it all knits together. The Energy Policy Modernization Act will boost our economy, our security, and our international competitiveness all at the same time. It will help our families save money. It will help our businesses save hundreds of billions of dollars. It frees up budgets. It frees up our ability to place priorities elsewhere. It will help assure that our energy remains abundant and affordable, even as it becomes cleaner and more diverse in supply. And it will do all of this without raising taxes, without imposing new mandates, and without adding to the Federal deficit.

Again, we are getting great gains for our economy, good jobs, and security from a host of different ways. We are able to do this without raising taxes, without imposing new mandates, and without adding to the Federal deficit.

This is a good bill. This is a bill that is designed to go the distance. It is designed to make a difference. I am confident that we can proceed through this floor debate, and we can make it even better. For the half of the Senators who have participated in this one way or another, there is another half who want to weigh in, and I welcome that. I think that is part of this process. This is part of a commitment we are making to an open amendment process, but I hope we can focus on the good that is within this bill and work to make it better and avoid the gotchas and avoid the poison pills; avoid those things that are designed to do nothing more than to bring a bill down by perhaps making a political point. I ask my colleagues to treat this bill on the floor with the same seriousness that the Energy and Natural Resources Committee treated it throughout this month-long process. Let us come together as Senators in the United States Senate to truly help make a difference with our energy policies.

With that, I encourage Members to come down to the floor. We know there are a bunch of rumored amendments out there, and we welcome them. But we all know we have been delayed a couple of days by the snow, and we have work to do. So I would urge colleagues to come to the floor and file their amendments. I would also remind Members that if an amendment costs money, it is going to need to be paired with a viable offset.

I remind the Senate that we are considering Senate bill 2012. This is not a House shell. So we will need to table any tax amendments because we do not want to be in a situation where we have a blue slip that prevents us from advancing to conference. I am throwing that out there. You may have issues that you would like to bring up, but if it costs money, we have to have an offset. We simply cannot do tax amendments, and I know that because there are actually some that I am interested in as well.

I think Senator Cantwell and I are both in the same situation. We know an open amendment process on an energy bill that hasn't seen floor action in a long time could have the effect of unkinking the hose. We know there are a lot of folks that have a lot of good ideas, and perhaps hundreds of ideas, that this bill could include. Our intent is to work as hard as we can and as fast as we can to process as many of these bills as possible.

Tomorrow we expect to have a busy day. Hopefully, by the end of today, we will have reached some consent agreement as to what the votes for tomorrow would look like, but my hope is that we will be voting, voting, voting tomorrow so as to process the many of the amendments we are expecting. It is unfortunate that we have lost a few working days to the snowstorm, but that is nothing compared to the 8 years we have lost as we have let our energy policies languish.

We know we are in a place and a space where our policies have failed to keep up with the changes in the market and the advances in technology. We know our policies in many areas are outdated, with opportunities being ignored and challenges going unaddressed. So we are here. It is time to have the debate. It is time to work through an amendment process. It is time to pass an energy bill in the U.S. Senate. And after the model of the highway bill, of the education reform, and the very good work that so many in this body have put toward this bipartisan effort, my hope is that the Energy Policy Modernization Act will be the next bipartisan accomplishment on behalf of the American people.

Mr. President, I yield to my ranking member and good partner in all things energy, Senator Cantwell. A very sincere thank-you to her for a very cooperative and good working relationship throughout all of this. Thank you.

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