Most Expensive Bill of the Week – The Bill: S. 1321, Practical Energy Plan Act of 2011

The Bill: S. 1321, Practical Energy Plan Act of 2011

Annualized Cost: $1.4 billion ($6.8 billion over five years)

To reduce America’s dependence on imported oil and address the rise in energy prices, Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN) has introduced the Practical Energy Plan Act. The bill calls for an increase in domestic oil production while improving the nation’s energy efficiency.
S. 1321 would expand domestic oil production by reopening offshore and outer continental shelf zones where drilling has been suspended since the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. To augment proven oil reserves, a new tax credit would be established to incentivize oil production from captured carbon. Senator Lugar projects the change in America’s oil sources will reduce America’s dependence on foreign oil by 6.3 million barrels per day by 2030.
The majority of the Practical Energy Plan Act is devoted to making America more energy efficient. Grants would be awarded to local governments to adopt new building codes and a new revolving loan program would lend funds to manufacturers who outfit facilities with technology that reduce energy needs. Along with new programs, new regulations are imposed on private-sector businesses. By 2015, no less than 50 percent of car manufacturers’ inventories will be permitted to have “fuel choice” vehicles, which are cars and trucks that run on biofuels, natural gas, hydrogen, or batteries.
Federal vehicles would also fall under similar requirements as the private-sector. The Department of Defense would be required to enter into a minimum 20-year contract for alternative fuels. Regulations would also be imposed on new and old government properties to comply with energy savings requirements.
According to the text of the Act, S. 1321 would result in a $6.8 billion cost increase for the federal government over the first five years of enactment. The energy efficiency programs would make up all of the new spending. Provisions related to federal property energy savings and any offsetting receipts from offshore drilling are assumed to have an impact on spending after the first five years.