2.0. ERMUSR AGENDA 01-09-2007 - Laserfiche WebLink

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The tax bill was the solution. Since the IOU tax credits needed reauthorizing, the CREB program should receive the same treatment, it was argued. Indeed, once the IOU production tax credits (section 301) were secured, CREBs received a bonus: another $400 million(to be split according to the current formula, with $250 million for governmental bodies and $150m for coops),plus another year of existence, ending in late 2008. This became section 302 in the energy title of the tax bill. • Excelsior Energy Project: Section 303 of the bill should not go unmentioned. While Sen. Coleman was unable to secure rural bonds in the tax bill, he was able to include a major energy provision whereby new clean coal projects, including the proposed Excelsior coal plant, could be eligible to receive tax incentives for new power plants that use clean coal. The provision was nearly a technical correction—it sought to fix an unintended consequence in last year's EPAct bill that provided tax incentives for new coal plants when they used bituminous coal, but neglected to deal with cleaner sub-bituminous and lignite, which includes coal coming from the Powder River Basin in Wyoming, which supplies nearly half of all the coal plants in the country. Budget As previously mentioned, Congress passed another"CR,"this time until February 15, essentially punting all the tough budget questions until early next year. But there are always problems with this approach: a CR provides no new money and no earmarks for the next year's budget, essentially freezing budget and personnel decisions across the board. This means current funding for all government functions is based on 2006 numbers, the last budget approved, even though we are currently in the 2007 budget cycle. Further, it is expected the new Congress, under Democratic control in both the House and Senate,will decide to simply move forward with the 2008 budget cycle, keeping the CR in place through the entire 2007 budget year, which ends September 30. With few exceptions, this is expected to impact several key energy-related areas, including Department of Energy programs (PMA functions, renewables, etc.), agriculture spending, and FERC operations, among others. The New 110th Congress (and Issues to Watch) True, Congress changed hands overnight(or, in the Senate's case, over several nights), but not to go unnoticed is the substantial change in the Minnesota congressional delegation: new faces in both chambers, party changes, and new leadership in key committees. The Senate's dramatic but tenuous shift(now 51-49) means all leadership posts and committee chairs are in the hands of Democrats, and Senator-elect Amy Klobuchar is suddenly in the majority. She landed spots on several committees, including Agriculture and Environment and Public Works, which will be extremely busy discussing climate change legislation. Sen.Coleman's committee spots remain the same, including Ag, Foreign Relations, and Homeland Security, among others. 3