Record-low number of Dems join GOP on pro-pipelines bill as 'energy week' continues

E&E News
By Elana Schor
June 25, 2014

Seventeen House Democrats yesterday joined all but one Republican in voting to replace the presidential permitting process that Keystone XL has been mired in for years with a faster path to approval of energy infrastructure.

The 238-173 vote to approve H.R. 3301, crafted by House Energy and Commerce Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) and Rep. Gene Green (D-Texas), marked a record-low number of Democrats crossing the aisle to support the GOP on measures that would increase the flow of oil and gas between the United States and its North American neighbors. The legislation would not directly approve Keystone XL but carves out a path for the contentious oil sands crude pipeline to win speedy approval even if President Obama rejects its bid to cross the northern border.

When the House passed a pro-KXL bill 13 months ago, 19 Democrats joined the GOP in support, while environmentalists crowed at the drop in bipartisan backing for the pipeline, which snagged an all-time high of 69 House Democrats voting in favor in 2012 (E&E Daily, May 23, 2013).

No matter the number of Democratic backers, House Republicans hailed passage of a bill they touted as beneficial for energy security.

The measure "will guarantee there is never again a Keystone debacle," Majority Whip and Majority Leader-elect Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said in a statement. "By integrating our energy infrastructure with Canada and Mexico we strengthen our ties to our allies, move America toward energy independence, create jobs, and lower energy prices."

Before voting to approve the bill, with Rep. Walter Jones of North Carolina as the only dissenting Republican, the House turned back three Democratic amendments. Also falling to defeat was a Democratic motion to recommit that targeted KXL's sponsor, TransCanada Corp., and its Canadian oil sands crude competitor Enbridge Inc. over the risks of spills from their pipelines.

The bill drew a White House veto threat earlier yesterday and stands little, if any, chance of proceeding in the Democratic-controlled Senate. But Bob Greco, the American Petroleum Institute's downstream group director, hailed its passage as a step toward certainty for industry players looking to construct new cross-border pipelines or electric transmission lines.

"The U.S. should have a robust and consistent oversight process for all energy infrastructure projects, but the process should be fair and balanced," Greco said in a statement.

Friends of the Earth's climate program director, Ben Schreiber, dismissed the vote as "theatrics," noting in a statement that the House's continued pursuit of a KXL path to approval indicates "how important the pipeline is to the oil industry."

Natural gas exports on deck

The House yesterday also began consideration of H.R. 6, Rep. Cory Gardner's bill to expedite liquefied natural gas exports. The Colorado Republican is proposing a 30-day deadline for the Department of Energy to decide on LNG export applications -- less than the 45-day deadline included in a recently revamped bill from Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.), whom Gardner hopes to unseat in November. Gardner and Udall had both initially proposed 90-day windows for DOE to decide.

The House is scheduled to consider proposed amendments to Gardner's bill and vote on final passage today.

Bill Cooper of the Center for LNG said he's optimistic the House and Senate will come together to pass legislation to fast-track LNG and that the White House will sign on, especially if it sees the bill receive a stamp of approval from a Democratic-led Senate.

As for the differences in the number of days DOE is allotted to make a decision on export projects, Cooper said, "You're nibbling around the edges, and that's nothing to get upset about." Cooper also said the bills don't rise to the level of requiring a veto.

"I don't know when the Senate will take this up, we'd certainly like it to pass this Congress," he said. "There seems to be a lot of effort expended on trying to get this language right."

But Cooper is opposed to Rep. Peter DeFazio's (D-Ore.) amendment requiring applicants to disclose whether they plan to seek eminent domain for any necessary construction of an LNG export terminal. Cooper said the Natural Gas Act does not allow for the use of eminent domain on natural gas export infrastructure and therefore is not applicable.

"It's the wrong place," Cooper said. "If it was a pipeline bill, that would be fine."

The National Association of Manufacturers and the Heritage Foundation's political arm both encouraged support for H.R. 6 and alerted lawmakers yesterday that they would include the LNG bill as a "key vote" on their legislative scorecards.

Also yesterday, the House Rules Committee advanced H.R. 4899, the last of the trio of bills at the center of the "energy week" festivities. The bill combines several long-standing proposals -- many of which have passed the House before -- seeking to expedite drilling on federal lands; open up new waters off South Carolina, Virginia and Southern California to drilling; and reverse or undermine a variety of Obama administration energy policies.

A total of 10 amendments will be considered:

An amendment from Reps. Rob Wittman (R-Va.) and Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.) would authorize the Interior secretary to expand a finalized offshore drilling plan as long as it has undergone full environmental reviews in the last five years.
An amendment from Rep. Alan Lowenthal (D-Calif.) and several other Democrats would remove the bill's prohibition on marine spatial planning under the administration's National Ocean Policy.
An amendment from Duncan and several Republicans would extend the planning area for offshore leases from Virginia to Georgia.
A Wittman amendment would authorize training programs for geological and geophysical scientists through partnerships between universities in South Atlantic states and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.
Rep. Lois Capps (D-Calif.) led a Democratic group offering an amendment to require notification of state and local regulators when companies submit applications for offshore well stimulation activities.
An amendment from Rep. Ted Deutch (D-Fla.) would strike a petition designed to expedite judicial review.
An amendment from Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) would require renegotiation of any existing leases that allow companies to drill offshore without paying royalties.
Rep. Rob Bishop (R-Utah) offered an amendment to prohibit the cancellation of any lease based on public comments submitted late.
Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee's (D-Texas) amendment would establish a new job-training program.
And Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) submitted an amendment to authorize $10 million raised by the bill to fund efforts at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to limit speculation in energy markets.

The Rules Committee also advanced the energy and water appropriations bill, which will come to the floor after Congress returns from recess the week of July 7 under a modified open rule that allows any member to offer a germane amendment on the floor.