Energy Policy Modernization Act of 2015
Floor Speech
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Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, good morning. This morning we are on day 2 of the Energy Policy Modernization Act. Yesterday, we took up this broad, bipartisan energy bill, the first of its kind in more than 8 years. Taking this up was a good moment for the Senate. It was an important step. It is the beginning of a series of steps that we will take to modernizing our Nation's energy as well as our mineral policies. I am hopeful we are going to have a good day of debate today.
As we begin this morning, I would like to summarize very briefly where we are in this process and what Members might expect over the course of the day. As of this morning, we have a total of 89 amendments that have now been filed to the underlying bill. We are already starting to process those amendments. We recognize that some will go by voice vote, some will of course need rollcall votes, and others simply will not be voted at all.
Right now we do have six amendments pending before the body. We have amendment No. 2963 that I have offered, which improves a provision in the underlying bill related to reliability impact statements. We have amendment No. 2968 from Senator Shaheen to clarify a definition for the term ``smart manufacturing'' that is contained within the underlying bill. We have an amendment from Senator Markey, amendment No. 2982, to require the Government Accountability Office to study the economic aspects of crude oil exports annually for 3 years. We have an amendment from Senator Barrasso, amendment No. 3017, to establish a prize for technologies that can separate carbon dioxide molecules from dilute sources such as ambient air.
At noon we are scheduled to proceed to a rollcall vote on amendment No. 3021 to promote research into nuclear energy. There is a strong list of Members who are supporting this amendment: Senators Crapo and Risch from Idaho, along with Senator Whitehouse of Rhode Island, Senator Booker of New Jersey, Senator Hatch of Utah, and Senators Kirk and Durbin from Illinois. There is a good bipartisan mix of Senators from around the country coming together to promote nuclear research with this amendment.
At 1:45 p.m. we will proceed to amendment No. 2965. This has been offered by Senator Schatz, and it will increase the authorized funding levels for ARPA-E in the underlying Energy bill.
Senator Cantwell and I are both working with our staffs to reach agreement on any additional amendments that can be brought up for votes today. We will try to keep Members apprised as to what they can expect. I think both of us are hopeful that we will see more votes added to the list I have just described. We may have one as early as 11:30 this morning. That has not been worked out yet, but there is an option of course for more amendments in the afternoon, if Members are willing to stick with us on this.
As I mentioned yesterday in terms of some housekeeping details, and it is worth repeating today, I would urge Members not to wait to file amendments. Get your amendments in so we can be looking at them and assessing where they might fit, in terms of how we handle and process them. I think the earlier you are able to file these amendments the greater the likelihood that you will see a vote on them.
Again, as I mentioned yesterday, any amendments that cost money, any amendment that is going to score, you are going to need to find a viable offset in order for us to consider it. Further, if it is a measure that would result in a blue slip because it involves a tax provision or a tax amendment, know that is something we cannot consider.
Before I make some comments about some individuals, I want to make a few more brief remarks about the bill itself, this broad and bipartisan Energy Policy Modernization Act. I mentioned yesterday that we have a total of five titles within the bill, and we did not just construct them for organizational purposes. They represent some important themes in our policies within these areas.
The first title is ``Efficiency.'' When you think about the importance of efficiency in the energy sector, it is a critical component. We should all always be looking for ways to be saving energy. It is just smart. It is smart from a cost perspective. It is smart from being a good steward perspective. It is just smart all the way around. It helps our businesses and our families save money. It makes our resources last longer. It is good for our environment. Efficiency is good overall.
``Infrastructure'' is our second title. Typically, when we think about infrastructure, we think about the roads and bridges, but our energy infrastructure is integral to the daily operation of commerce that goes on around us when we are talking about energy infrastructure. It may be the big infrastructure such as the Hoover Dam. It is also the electric wires, pipelines, and it is the whole infrastructure package. We have a responsibility to keep our infrastructure in good shape so that we can reliably and safely transport energy from the place where it is produced to the place where it is needed.
I joke sometimes, saying it is frustrating because there is not more education or understanding about our energy and our energy resources and how they work as much as we would like. I have joked that some ascribe to this ``immaculate conception'' theory of energy--it just happens. The lights come on, the temperature is what we would like it to be, and we do not care how or why it came to us or the fact that we might not have that energy resource right here in our neighborhood. It is just here, and as long as we are not inconvenienced because it is not too expensive and it is reliable, we are good with it. We do not think about how it gets to us and the necessity of reliable, safe infrastructure to take that from the source to the customer.
The fourth title is accountability. Again, like efficiency, it just makes good sense to ensure that, as we are building out our energy policies, there is a level of accountability that comes with it--that our Federal agencies work efficiently and effectively as good stewards of taxpayer dollars. I think we have plenty of room for improvement when it comes to accountability right now.
I mentioned yesterday that in addition to a pretty robust accountability title, we remove some deadwood, some reports and requirements that have built up over the years that get incorporated into our United States Code, and then they just sit there.
As they sit there, it is not just that they are benign. The agencies still go ahead, and they have the reports that we here in Congress have required of them. That costs money. Nobody reads them. We have taken care of that within the accountability title.
Then the fifth title is the title that relates to conservation aspects as it relates to the Land and Water Conservation Fund, an issue that I know the Presiding Officer is very interested in and would like making sure there are reforms there. We want to work to make sure that the reforms are good and sound, also making sure that our national parks have the focus on maintenance that they need. We have a responsibility to ensure that we are taking care of our parks and public lands, to not let the addition of more parks come at the cost of not taking care of what we already have.
Rather than just kind of doing the 30,000-foot level on each of these various titles, I want to highlight today a little bit about the third title of this bill, the title that deals with energy supply.
Over the past few years, we have seen several things. We have seen a lot of good things that happen when we are producing our own energy here in this country and the benefits that accrue to us when our energy is abundant. It is not just access to energy, but it is also what allows us in terms of energy economic security, something that leads to the creation of good jobs. As the economy grows here, our security increases. Really, we become far more competitive.
So, again, when I talk about energy, strong energy policies, and an energy security focus, keep in mind these things reinforce one another. You have energy security leading to economic security, leading to national security. It moves all the way around. That, again, allows us to be more competitive over all other nations.
Our bill would help keep our Nation's oil and natural gas production going strong. We have included a pilot program from Senator Hoeven for oil and gas permitting. We would expedite the process for liquefied natural gas exports, which could help us raise our domestic production levels. I want to say also that we did not just focus on oil and gas in this bill because we recognize drawing our energy from a variety of sources creates reliability and stability. We all know that Alaska is an oil-producing State. We focus a lot in our State on oil and being able to access it responsibly. We also know that when you are reliant on one source, there is a vulnerability. So when we talk about an ``all of the above'' approach to energy production, we mean it. This kind of approach just makes sense. It makes sense because it lessens your vulnerability. It increases not only your energy security, but your economic security and your national security as well.
So focusing on all aspects of our energy sources is key to what we do within this bill. We took some good steps to produce more hydropower in this country by helping to reduce the regulatory barriers and extending the licensing period for hydropower projects. This is important to us as a nation, especially when we think about resources that already exist through hydropower and the additional capacity that we could potentially gain from these already exiting hydropower resources. This is significant.
Geothermal is another area where we have an emissions-free source of baseload energy. Again, so much of what we talk about with renewables and part of the big problem that we face is that some renewables are intermittent. The wind does not always blow and the sun is not always out, so you have to have a reliable baseload. Our reliable baseload for a century has been coal.
We have a reliable baseload with nuclear. When others think about those other areas where we have reliable baseloads, they also ought to think about the potential of geothermal. Our bill includes a number of provisions to help us expand the use and reduce the cost of this important renewable resource. We are doing some exciting things up in Alaska, as we are identifying sources to access geothermal energy resources.
In another area, in Alaska and in some of the other coastal States, whether it is Maine or down in Oregon, we are seeing some good progress, some interesting progress when it comes to marine hydrokinetic energy, which has the potential to draw the power from the movement of the oceans and river currents. I just mentioned reliable baseload. You need to have something that you can rely on.
The Presiding Officer comes from the interior part of the country. I come from a State that has almost 34,000 miles of coastline. One of the things that we know in Alaska is how the tides come and go. We can print up tide books because there is reliability as to when the tide is in and when the tide is out. So think about the potential for energy resources from our oceans, from our river currents. What we do within the bill is help advance marine hydrokinetic energy. We are attempting to help move it out of its infancy and focus the DOE on some pretty critical research areas.
We also have a great subtitle on minerals. Oftentimes we forget about the strategic importance of critical minerals. Every one of us is walking around nowadays with a smartphone. Every one of us, therefore, is reliant on some form of critical mineral. For those who want to advance the energy future in the direction of renewables, well, in order for you to have a wind turbine, you are going to need some of these critical minerals from the Earth to allow us to really build out technologies.
Minerals are really the foundation of our modern society. We need them for everything, as I said, from our smartphones to our military assets. Yet, despite this importance, we have really failed as policymakers to focus on mineral security. We have not been thinking about it enough. We have been talking a lot about this: Oh, we do not want to be reliant on oil. We do not want to be reliant on OPEC, and we work to address that. In the meantime, we have taken our eye off the ball when it comes to mineral security. We now import 100 percent of 19 separate mineral commodities and more than 50 percent of some 24 additional commodities. This is happening despite the growing importance of those minerals in our everyday lives and despite what we have here in this country, which is a world-class mineral base. When we talk about energy security and making sure that we are able to produce more here to reduce our vulnerability, energy security also needs to include that mineral security.
We also have provisions to promote our domestic supply of helium. A lot of people do not think about helium in the energy space. We promote nuclear power, particularly our advanced nuclear power, to help foster a strong energy workforce. So when we talk about the direction that this energy bill goes, I mentioned yesterday that innovation is the key to so much of what we are trying to push out as we modernize our energy policies.
As important as innovation is, supply is a case where more really is better. As a result of this good title that we have contained in the Energy Policy Modernization Act, I think our energy and our mineral supplies will increase in the years ahead to the benefit of America. Tribute to Mike Brumas
Mr. President, I know my colleague from Hawaii is here on the floor, but I want to take just a few minutes to acknowledge something the leader mentioned regarding an individual in his office, someone that has served him well, Mike Brumas. Mike has been working for Leader McConnell now for a number of years and has done a great job in the communications department.
I too am very privileged to have had him leading my communications department between 2008 and 2010. Mike is one of those men whom you can call a southern gentleman. He has a little bit of a twang that did not quite fit with the Alaska reporters, but it did not matter because he was so knowledgeable on all issues--all issues that we dealt with, including some of the most parochial and local of Alaskan issues.
Mike Brumas embraced his job with an enthusiasm and a professionalism that was genuinely and sincerely appreciated. I know that he and his wife Ann are probably going to be spending a lot more time out on their bicycles and enjoying their time together. We happen to share timing; their two sons are just about the same age as the two sons that Vern and I have been raising. So we kind of shared parenting experiences as our sons grew into men.
It has just been a delight to spend the time getting to know Michael Brumas and seeing him as an exceptional professional here serving the Senate, both for me and for Leader McConnell. So I wish him well and great adventures in his retirement. Tribute to Karen Billups
Mr. President, as I am speaking about retirement, I must mention a woman who is not with us as we are debating and navigating this Energy Policy Modernization Act. That woman is a friend and an incredible professional who headed up the Energy and Natural Resources Committee for me for the majority of the past several years. After 25 years in the Senate, Karen Billups has said: I am moving on to more excitement, moving on to spend that time with a young son that she has.
Karen is an individual with an incredible reputation, incredible integrity, and a graciousness that will be long remembered on this floor and around this body. She first joined the Energy and Natural Resources Committee back in 1995. Before that, she had served with distinction at the Department of Energy during the first Bush administration. She was in private law practice, and she was also on the staff of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. She has had a breadth of experience on the private side, within the Executive branch, in the House and then, of course, in the Senate. After joining the committee again in 1995, Karen served as counsel and then she came on as senior counsel.
I think it is worth noting that Karen has worked through--or perhaps lived through--two Murkowskis because when my father was the chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Karen Billups worked for him. And when I came to the Senate and had Karen at the helm working as counsel, I have to tell you it was extraordinarily reassuring. In those early years, she focused on a whole host of different issues that face our Nation, from energy to civilian and defense nuclear waste. She was also the troubleshooter. She mentored our younger committee staff and ensured that Members and senior staff were all in alignment and that the direction was clear. Again, this was with a focus that was firm but yet very appreciative of the different dimensions she had to deal with. She is a woman who was able to navigate with a level of finesse. She is a woman who is able to navigate with finesse.
After service in the private sector, Karen came back as deputy chief counsel in 2003, and I was very grateful when she accepted a promotion to be my chief counsel in 2009. Then in 2013 she agreed to step up to serve as my staff director and had been in that capacity until we concluded the end of 2015.
I think it is so important to acknowledge what Karen not only lent to the committee, to me, to my office, but also to the many on the floor who worked with her on energy issues. Karen set a standard for excellence and achievement, and she worked tirelessly--truly tirelessly--to improve our policies to upgrade and to improve our Nation's energy resource, lands, and forestry policies. You might say she was a policy wonk, but you didn't get that impression from her because she did it with a genuineness and a passion that clearly showed.
Karen steered a wide range of legislation into law, everything from boundary adjustments, to helping the economies of small western towns, to the landmark Energy Policy Act of 2005. Then as we wrapped up last year, she was able to pull together the end-of-year omnibus with the energy pieces that we had attached to that, the Transportation bill that had an energy title that had come over from the House side, and tax extenders. She worked in a way that was quiet and amenable but, again, firm and effective. In many ways her work continues today through this bipartisan Energy bill and the other legislation she guided to introduction. What we are seeing today has been done with the assistance--the mastermind, if you will-- of Karen Billups.
As the ranking member and now chairman of the committee, I depended daily on Karen's thoughtful leadership, her patient counsel, and her wise judgment. I mean it when I say she was not only a trusted advisor but deeply skilled and motivated by the best traditions of service to the Senate and to the Nation on every issue that came before the committee. She had an understanding of the operations of this body.
I know those who work the floor appreciated Karen's evenhanded skills. She helped point the way with a strategic vision for policy and oversight. I think she is probably one of the best lawyers I have ever met. Again, she was not just a leader for the staff, she was a mentor for them. She was an advocate for them. That is very telling of true leadership.
Karen's service to the Senate was marked not by length but by distinction and by grace. She has truly earned the tremendous respect that she enjoys here and all throughout our Nation's Capital. Her legacy speaks for itself--a stronger energy policy that benefits every American and an Energy and Natural Resources Committee that continues to work together to tackle our toughest challenges.
For all of these reasons and so many more, Karen truly stands out in my mind not only as a leader but as a real friend. As she embarks on this very well-deserved retirement, she knows that I wish her, her family, her husband Ray, and her great son Davis all the best as she goes off to her new endeavor. I wanted to take a moment to acknowledge the good work of a great lady who has helped shepherd this bill we have before us.
Mr. President, I notice that we have a couple of Members on the floor who I am assuming would like to speak to the Energy bill before us.
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Ms. MURKOWSKI. Just an inquiry, Mr. President, into how much time the Senator is seeking at this moment.
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Ms. MURKOWSKI. I also understand that Senator Whitehouse wishes to speak to an amendment that is pending. Is that correct?
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Ms. MURKOWSKI. Thank you. I am trying to make sure that we are going to commence the vote beginning at noon. Thank you.
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Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, now we are ready to dispose of a couple of amendments by voice vote. Amendment No. 3017
I call for the regular order with respect to the Barrasso amendment No. 3017.
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Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I send a modification to the desk for Barrasso amendment No. 3017.
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Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I know of no further debate on this amendment.
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Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I call for the regular order with respect to the Shaheen amendment No. 2968.
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Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I know of no further debate on the amendment.
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Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I now ask unanimous consent that Senator Crapo and Senator Whitehouse each have 1 minute of debate prior to the vote on the Crapo amendment.
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Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, we are now ready to process a handful of amendments with a series of voice votes.
3029; Baldwin amendment No. 2984; Wyden amendment No. 3001; Capito amendment No. 3063; Daines amendment No. 3020; and Hirono amendment No. 3067.
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Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I know of no further debate on these amendments.
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