Budget & Policy

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 11/13/2015 National Economic Research Associates (NERA) said in a report this week that the Environmental Protection Agency’s carbon emissions standards for existing coal-fired power plants, the Clean Power Plan, will result in an 11-14 percent per year increase in electricity rates. “This analysis makes it abundantly clear the president’s power […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 11/13/2015 Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz late last week announced the creation of a new international collaborative network focused on research and development of carbon saline storage technologies. The network, announced at the Carbon Sequestration Leadership Forum (CSLF) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, will “form a global network of large-scale carbon […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 11/13/2015 Getting significant air time at a Republican debate for the first time in the run-up to the primaries, the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan carbon regulations for coal-fired power plants were harshly criticized by several candidates Tuesday evening. “The first thing I would do as president is repeal […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 11/13/2015 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton this week released a $30 billion plan to support communities reliant on coal that have been hit by the trend toward lower-carbon energy sources. “Building a 21st century clean energy economy in the United States will create new jobs and industries, deliver important health […]

GHG Monitor 11/13/2015 IN INDUSTRY Mississippi Power, developer of the Kemper County Energy Facility carbon capture and storage project, has again had its credit rating downgraded. Moody’s Investors Service announced late last week that the company has been downgraded from Baa2 to Baa3. "The downgrade of Mississippi Power’s ratings is prompted by the election of […]

Though no initiatives appear to have been started, Sen. Dan Coats (R-Ind.) hopes lawmakers will work to free up some $1.6 billion locked up in an essentially inactive account created 25 years ago to support activities of the then-newly initiated United States Enrichment Corp., according to Coats’ press secretary. The senator highlighted the account on […]

The U.S. Senate on Tuesday passed a new version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal 2016, sending it to President Barack Obama, who is expected to sign the bill. The new bill that authorizes $607 billion in defense spending was passed in the House last week following an agreement between Congress and […]

Brian Bradley WC Monitor 10/30/2015 House Appropriations energy and water subcommittee Chairman Mike Simpson (R-Idaho) on Tuesday said his chamber’s appropriators are including $283 million for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in the fiscal 2016 spending bill, $35 million more than the Obama administration’s request, but that the funding might not be enough to keep […]

Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown (D) yesterday called on Office of Management and Budget Director Shaun Donovan and Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz to request $460 million to fully fund cleanup at the Portsmouth Site in fiscal 2017, and to provide more predictable funding for the site in the future, as hundreds of jobs potentially hang in […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 11/6/2015 As congressional lawmakers negotiate toward a final fiscal 2016 spending bill, a newly formed lobbying group has already set its sights on the fiscal 2017 budget allocation for the Army Corps of Engineers’ Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program. The FUSRAP Coalition, made up of members of industry, local […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 11/6/2015 The Mississippi Supreme Court late last week denied a request by a local businessman to overturn an August emergency rate increase for Mississippi Power. The temporary 18 percent rate hike was approved by the Mississippi Public Service Commission on Aug. 13 and was immediately challenged in the form of […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 11/6/2015 The ongoing march to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit continued this week as states and interest groups filed more challenges to the Environmental Protection Agency’s carbon emissions standards for new and existing coal-fired power plants. The final rules, developed under Sections 111(b) […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 11/6/2015 Republican members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee this week expressed displeasure with the administration’s climate policy during a roundtable discussion with visiting members of the European Parliament. Energy and Power Subcommittee Chairman Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.) explained Thursday to the European delegation that it is important to Republicans […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 11/6/2015 Two Congressional Review Act resolutions introduced by Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.) against the Environmental Protection Agency’s carbon emissions regulations for new and existing coal-fired power plants were reported out of the House Energy and Commerce Energy and Power Subcommittee this week on a party-line vote. The markup served as […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 11/6/2015 Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) this week lashed out again against the Environmental Protection Agency’s recently finalized carbon emissions standards for new and existing coal-fired power plants, this time in local media. “These regulations force coal-fired plants to meet emissions standards which simply can’t be achieved, at least not now, […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 11/6/2015 Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) this week introduced legislation that would halt the extraction of fossil fuels from federal lands. The “Keep it in the Ground” bill would serve three main purposes: to stop new and end nonproducing coal, oil, gas, oil shale, and tar sands leases on all federal […]

Chris Schneidmiller NS&D Monitor 11/6/2015 A National Nuclear Security Administration program to identify potential nuclear proliferation threats in future years has multiple limitations that could undermine its effectiveness, the Government Accountability Office said in a report issued on Oct. 30. The “Over the Horizon” (OTH) program under the NNSA Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation (DNN) […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 11/6/2015 The House of Representatives on Thursday passed its new version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal 2016 with a vote of 370-58 following an agreement between Congress and the White House that cuts $5 billion in previously authorized funding from the Department of Defense budget. The new […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 11/6/2015 Seventeen members of Congress are urging the Department of Education to grant eligibility to all employees of the Department of Energy’s (DOE) 16 national laboratories for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLFP). Rep. Eric Swalwell’s (D-Calif.) Nov. 2 letter to the Department of Education says the PSLFP, which forgives […]

President Barack Obama on Monday signed the Bipartisan Budget Agreement into law, increasing spending caps for defense and non-defense accounts for the next two years and raising the debt limit just one day before deadline. The agreement “should finally free us from the cycle of shutdown threats and last-minute fixes,” Obama said before signing the […]

CRENEL Final Report Released Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 10/30/2015 Senate Appropriations Energy and Water Development Subcommittee Ranking Member Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) on Wednesday suggested holding regular meetings between lawmakers and national laboratory directors, and expressed hope that more frequent communication of this type could help lab projects and programs finish on time and on schedule. […]

A National Nuclear Security Administration program to identify potential nuclear proliferation threats in future years had multiple limitations that could undermine its effectiveness, the Government Accountability Office said in a report issued Friday.   The “Over the Horizon” program under the NNDA Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation was begun in 2010 to determine nuclear and […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 10/30/2015 In penning its carbon emissions standards for existing coal-fired power plants, the Environmental Protection Agency exceeded its authority, according to a coalition of 16 industry groups led by the United States Chamber of Commerce. “[We are concerned] about how EPA has actually exerted its authority in this rulemaking process. […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 10/30/2015 Lawmakers in the House and Senate introduced Congressional Review Act resolutions early this week to fight the Environmental Protection Agency’s recently finalized carbon emissions standards for new and existing coal-fired power plants. The four resolutions, one for each of the two rules in the House and Senate, are unlikely […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 10/30/2015 North Dakota has filed its own suit against the Environmental Protect Agency’s recently finalized carbon emissions standards for existing coal-fired power plants, setting itself apart from a coalition of 24 other states. While this move is merely ceremonial, as all suits against the rule at this time have been […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 10/30/2015 After being published in the Federal Register on Oct. 23, the comment period for the Environmental Protection Agency’s draft federal implementation plan (FIP) for the recently finalized carbon emissions standards for existing coal-fired power plants, the Clean Power Plan (CPP), has opened. Under the CPP, states are required to […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 10/30/2015 Energy-related carbon dioxide emissions in 37 states decreased from 2000-2013, according to a report released this week by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). On the other end of the spectrum, 13 states — Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming […]

Brian Bradley WC Monitor 10/30/2015 The Energy Department’s Office of Environmental Management has started communicating with other government bodies about how shutting down the Piketon, Ohio, portion of the American Centrifuge Project (ACP) will be paid for, and who will foot the bill, Mark Whitney, DOE principal deputy assistant secretary for environmental management, told House […]

Chris Schneidmiller NS&D Monitor 10/30/2015 The two-year budget agreement approved by Congress this week opens the door for increased spending on Department of Energy nuclear weapons operations. House lawmakers on Wednesday voted 266-167 in favor of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, which would raise the discretionary spending cap for security activities and non-security activities […]

Valerie Insinna Defense Daily 10/30/2015 If a yearlong continuing resolution (CR) is enacted, the Navy will pull out all stops to protect the Ohio replacement program and keep it on schedule, but not all programs will be as lucky, a top Navy official said last week. One casualty would be the heavyweight MK 48 torpedo production […]