ENERGY |
Mainers have been hurt by fluctuating fuel prices at the pump and many have difficulty heating their homes. On top of a faltering economy, the high price of energy has made it difficult for Mainers to balance family budgets and for small businesses to stay afloat. Mike has advocated for targeted relief to help Mainers deal with the increased price of fuel, and has continued to fight for domestic production and renewable fuels that will help our nation become more energy independent in the future while at the same time developing jobs here at home. In this section:
Mike introduced legislation that would help reduce energy costs and support the transition to greener power among struggling industries nationwide, including Maine's paper industry. Since its introduction, the bill has gained significant support from Democrats and Republicans from across the country. Under the current tax code, biomass energy producers who sell their power into the grid can take a tax credit for the production of this green energy. However, biomass energy producers who use that energy on-site, like many of Maine's paper mills, are not allowed to take that tax credit. The legislation that Mike introduced would rectify this situation by extending the tax credit to all who produce biomass energy, whether the power is used on-site or off-site. This will promote the conversion of many plants from costly and environmentally-unfriendly petroleum fuels to locally-produced, greener biofuels. Mike worked with local and national forest product representatives as well as the State of Maine in crafting this legislation. To read the text of the legislation, click here. On June 26, 2009, a provision on biomass that Mike advocated for was passed as a part of the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009. Mike also spoke on the House floor and clarified legislative intent on another provision that he pushed that would benefit Maine’s forest landowners. To learn more about these provisions, click here. Return to top For many Mainers, the high cost of fuel is overwhelming. The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) helps by providing direct fuel assistance and supporting the weatherization of homes for lower-income Mainers, including families, the disabled and elderly living on fixed incomes. Mike has consistently called for substantial increases in funding for LIHEAP and worked with his colleagues to successfully increase the program’s funding to the fully authorized level of $5.1 billion. At the beginning of 2010, Mike pushed the Obama Administration to conduct a comprehensive review of the need for an increase in LIHEAP funding and commit the additional resources necessary to meet demand for the program. As the price of oil spiked in the summer of 2008, Mike fought hard to push every policy possible that would lower prices for consumers. He supported suspending shipments to and release oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). He also pushed for releasing fuel from the Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve during New England’s heating season. Mike has also supported legislation that would have released 70 million barrels of oil from the SPR, allowing this supply to be brought to market. Mike also supports tax credits for families and assistance to our small businesses to help them pay for energy. He has introduced legislation that would make low-interest loans available to small businesses that have suffered or will likely suffer substantial economic injury as a result of the price of heating fuel. Additionally, Mike has cosponsored legislation that would provide a tax credit to individuals for home heating.
In order to protect our economy and national security we must reduce our dependence on foreign oil by increasing domestic production and investing in renewable energy. Mike supports the increased use of energy resources and fuels produced in the United States. Investments in clean energy technologies will create jobs in Maine that cannot be shipped overseas. Mike has fought hard to ensure that these investments are made in the State of Maine, putting to work the considerable clean energy resources of the Second Congressional District.
Mike also cosponsored a number of bills to invest in renewable sources of energy, many of which are being produced in Maine today. He has voted for the extension of the production tax credit for renewable fuels like wind, tidal, and cellulosic ethanol. He also supported legislation that would provide tax credit to help homeowners install small wind systems and geothermal heat pump systems in their homes. To protect Maine families during times of record fuel prices, Mike voted to encourage oil production in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska, support the construction of a natural gas pipeline from Alaska to the continental United States, and require oil companies to drill for oil in areas which they already hold leases. He also supported legislation which would also have opened portions of the outer continental shelf to drilling. At the end of 2008, the legislative moratorium on drilling was lifted. Return to top The American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES), which passed the House on June 26th, 2009, will help take the United States in a new direction and finally invest in clean, domestic energy production. The bill will jump start the national economy by creating millions of new clean energy jobs, increase national security by reducing our dependence on foreign oil, and preserve the planet by reducing the pollution that causes global warming. A provision on biomass that Mike advocated for was passed as a part of the bill’s manager’s amendment. Mike also spoke on the House floor and clarified legislative intent on another provision that he pushed that would benefit Maine’s forest landowners. An American Forest & Paper Association statement on Mike’s work to strengthen ACES is available here. Energy efficiency and clean energy provisions will provide allowances to Maine of over $240 million during the period of 2012 to 2017 – funding that can be directly invested to grow Maine’s clean energy sector. Additionally, the energy efficiency section of the bill provides more than $90 billion in block grants to states between 2012 and 2025. More information on how ACES benefits Maine is available here. An analysis based on numbers from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office found that 25 percent of households in Maine’s Second District – those in the lowest economic quintile -- will save an average of $40 per year under ACES. Those 24% of households in the second quintile would only spend an average of an additional $40 annually – or 11 cents per day. The average American family will save $84 each year due to the energy efficiency measures in the bill. Additionally, Maine will see 10,000 clean energy jobs and $600 million in investment. More information on the benefits of the legislation, as well as links to the study, can be found here. You can click here to access an article Mike wrote about the passage of the bill. Below, you can find additional information on the bill as well as how it affects Maine. Additional information on the American Clean Energy and Security Act:
One of America's great untapped energy resources is efficiency. Individual homeowners and businesses can take steps now to reduce their energy usage, but the federal government can help homeowners and businesses invest in technologies that reduce their energy usage. In the 110th Congress, Mike voted for H.R. 6, Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, which became law and included a number of provisions requiring increases in the energy efficiency of appliances, buildings, and vehicles. He also cosponsored legislation which would provide our schools with grants to make energy efficiency improvements. Such support would allow them to decrease their energy costs and reduce their fuel usage. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act included $254,215,848 in funding for clean energy and energy efficiency investments in the State of Maine. A full list of programs can be viewed by going here and clicking on “DOE Recovery Act Project Breakdown by State.” Return to top |