Now that we’re about two-thirds of the way into the Democrats’ first 100 days of controlling Congress, we can take stock of some of the major pieces of energy legislation that have wound their way through the Capitol halls.

The House, in particular, has seen some great victories, like passing a January bill that included:

• Removing the corporate income tax deduction for oil and gas companies. Furthermore, those companies will now pay 35 percent tax instead of the 32 percent put in place in 2004.
• Repealing parts of the 2005 Energy Policy Act that gave royalty relief to oil and gas producers for high-cost drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska.
• Creating a "strategic energy efficiency and renewables reserve" to spend revenues generated by the tax and royalty provisions — about $14 billion over 10 years — to develop alternatives and renewable energy.

But the January bill may still face a fight. According to the Houston Business Journal, independent analysts have raised concerns that removing tax incentives to explore and produce oil in the U.S. could cripple oil production. Frank Verrastro, director of energy programs for the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C. told the Business Journal that Democrats made a smart move to encourage energy efficiency and conservation, but that rolling back tax breaks is better politics than policy.

The bill now has to make its way through the Senate, where it’s expected to have a tougher ride because of competing Senate bills and a slimmer Democratic majority.

Squabbles within the Democratic party have hindered movement as well. Speaker Nancy Pelosi ran into controversy when she called for the creation of a committee on global warming and energy independence that would draft a bill by June 1 and hold a floor vote by July 4.

Rep. John Dingell (D-MI), chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, didn’t seem excited about the idea at all when he remarked: "They're going to get under the feet of and interfere with those who are trying to do a decent job of legislating. I'm unaware of anything they will do that will be of any value."

He seemed a little cooler in a February letter to the Speaker, in which he and Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA), said they had reached an agreement that "resolves questions concerning the authorities and responsibilities" of the proposed committee. But less than two weeks later after a meeting with Pelosi that Dingell called "unhelpful," he said he doubted her June 1 and July 4 deadlines were possible.

Nevertheless, the House did authorized the committee, but with some changes to its responsibilities. It will hold hearings and recommend legislation, but won’t write any laws and will be terminated in two years. Earlier this month, Congressman Ed Markey (D-MA) was named chair of the 15-member panel. He once remarked, “Subsidizing an oil company to drill is like subsidizing a fish to swim."

Houston Business Journal