Roll Call: Upton Eyes the 'Architecture of Abundance' for Energy

Roll Call this week featured House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton’s (R-MI) energy policy vision called the Architecture of Abundance. Chairman Upton unveiled the details of this comprehensive strategy this summer, outlining five policy pillars that will help replace outdated policies and unleash the benefits of America’s abundant energy resources: Modernizing Infrastructure, Maintaining Diverse Electricity Generation, Permitting a Manufacturing Renaissance, Harnessing Energy Efficiency and Innovation, and Unleashing Energy Diplomacy. The committee added to its record of success this Congress with the passage of several pieces of bipartisan legislation supporting these pillars, and the committee will continue its efforts to build the Architecture of Abundance next year. To learn more about this bold plan that says #Yes2Energy, visit: http://energycommerce.house.gov/yes2energy. 

December 2, 2014

Upton Eyes the ‘Architecture of Abundance’ for Energy

After peeking inside Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s, R-Alaska, energy manifesto Monday for clues on how she’ll run the Energy and Natural Resources Committee next year, we turn today to the corresponding plan by House Energy and Commerce Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich.

Upton’s “Architecture of Abundance,” unveiled in a July speech, takes critical aim at “policies rooted in the old ideas of energy scarcity” to reflect the rapidly changing energy dynamics of the past several years.

That’s a sentiment expressed on both sides of the Capitol, where lawmakers from both parties have called for addressing issues associated with the fracking boom, including environmental concerns, infrastructure, and exports, to name a few.

Upton’s plan showcases the committee’s legislative work in the 113th Congress, in contrast to Murkowski’s proposal revealing a detailed look at her own thinking. The contrast reflects Murkowski’s time spent in the minority doing her homework and Upton’s having the luxury of legislating for the four years he’s been atop the powerful Energy and Commerce panel.

Upton’s committee has carefully laid the groundwork for a multitude of energy bills that have passed the House through regular order. As a result, the committee will be set to hit the ground running at the outset of the new Congress.

Remember that Upton, with the help of Energy and Power Subcommittee Chairman Edward Whitfield, R-Ky., and Environment and the Economy Chairman John Shimkus, R-Ill., has conducted a great deal of oversight during his tenure. Those efforts, which will be amplified through coordination with Senate GOP counterparts over the next two years, will also help shape policy.

House Republicans’ energy bills will find a much friendlier reception in a GOP-led Senate in the next two years than they found in the Democratic Senate for the last four years. The result may be less emphasis on sending message bills across the Capitol and more focus on finding areas of agreement with some Democrats, and even the White House, that could actually move energy legislation across the finish line.

Enacting an energy bill may be a heavy lift in the current political climate, but recall that a Democratic House and Senate overcame stark policy differences with President George W. Bush in 2007 to negotiate the last major energy law, the Energy Independence and Security Act (PL 110-140).

Upton’s plan is based upon five “pillars,” all of which have sparked bipartisan interest: modernizing infrastructure, maintaining diverse electricity sources; boosting U.S. manufacturing by overhauling federal permitting processes; energy efficiency and innovation; and “unleashing energy diplomacy.” Bipartisan efforts to legislate in these areas could lead to surprise breakthroughs on energy. …

Read the full article online HERE.

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