American Energy Renaissance Act AERA

cruz

mike lee only co-spon

03/27/2014 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

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related somehow to paler ala bs fed overreach 2015

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Just a few days before Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) became the first official candidate for president in the 2016 election, he introduced a bill which, if enacted, would repeal all federal climate change regulation in the United States.

The American Energy Renaissance Act, also sponsored in the House by Rep. Jim Bridenstine (R-OK), seeks to prevent the federal government from regulating greenhouse gas emissions through any of its executive agencies, particularly the Environmental Protection Agency. It would do so by expressly forbidding any efforts to fight climate change under five laws — The Clean Air Act, The Federal Water Pollution Control Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, The Endangered Species Act, and The Solid Waste Disposal Act.

Additionally, if the bill became law, the government would not be able to use the Clean Air Act to regulate carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, or sulfur hexafluoride. All current attempts to regulate carbon pollution by the EPA would be repealed. That includes controversial proposed rules to limit carbon pollution from new and existing power plants, but also seemingly includes highly successful and relatively uncontroversial measures like fuel economy standards for cars.

“Proposals to regulate greenhouse gases are very expensive and threaten hundreds of thousands of jobs,” a statement on Cruz’s website announcing the bill reads. “The authority to regulate such gases should only occur with explicit authority from Congress.”

Interestingly enough, all the laws that give executive agencies authority to regulate greenhouse gases were given that authority by Congress. Indeed, the Clear Air Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, and all the other laws cited in the bill were passed by Congress. Republicans opposed to climate regulation have argued that the Clean Air Act does not allow for regulation of carbon emissions — however, the Supreme Court hasaffirmed that it does.

The American Energy Renaissance Act is a sprawling piece of energy legislation, and includes much more than just a few attempts to gut the Clean Air Act and U.S. climate policy. The bill also includes provisions to approve the Keystone XL pipeline; to increase drilling on public lands like national parks and forests; to prevent federal regulation of fracking; and to end the ban on crude oil exports. Cruz introduced a nearly identical piece of legislation last year.

Naturally, all these policies would have the effect of drastically increasing greenhouse gas emissions, which the vast majority of scientists agree cause climate change.

Cruz, however, has been consistently adamant that humans don’t cause climate change — a position that has only gotten more extreme since he announced his presidential run. Just this week, Cruz said that most climate scientists and those who accept their findings are “the equivalent of the flat-Earthers,” while comparing himself to Galileo for denying the data. Historians were not happy with the comparison.

Despite how far away Cruz’s views are from the scientific consensus, he currently holds a good deal of power over how climate change is researched in the United States.He is the chair of the Senate Space, Science, and Competitiveness Subcommittee, the duties of which include oversight of NASA, the National Science Foundation, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the Office of Science and Technology Policy.

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American Energy Renaissance Act (AERA)

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This week Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) introduced the American Energy Renaissance Act(AERA), a plan to create new jobs and opportunities by harnessing our nation’s energy resources.  Speaking at the Heritage Action for America’s 2014 Conservative Policy Summit, Sen. Cruz stated that:

“The government will not solve our economic problems by controlling the economy or placing bureaucratic barriers to growth. The only thing that it must do is what it did in the Ronald Reagan era: get out of our way and let Americans do what they do best: dream, innovate, and prosper.”

Five key measures for economic growth in the American Energy Renaissance Actare: (1) passage of the REINS Act; (2) Empowering the states to regulate energy development; (3) Stopping the EPA’s regulatory overreach and the War on Coal; (4) Improving domestic energy prosperity and security; and (5) Reducing the national deficit. Specific measures under AERA are outlined below:

1. REINS Act
   • The REINS Actis proposed legislation that would require Congress and the President to vote on any EPA regulation that will have a negative impact on jobs.
   • The REINS Act would allow for an open discussion on the potential impact on jobs of proposed EPA regulations prior to passage.
2. Empowering the states to regulate energy production
   • Each state would be empowered to regulate and benefit from its own hydraulic fracturing – as opposed to the Federal government restricting a state’s ability to control its own resources and the resulting benefits.
   • Provide states the option of leasing, permitting and regulating energy resources on federal lands within their borders.
3. Rein in out of control EPA
   • Exclude greenhouse gases from regulation by the EPA and other federal agencies
   • Repeal of the Renewable Fuel Standard
4. Improving Domestic Energy Prosperity and Independence
   • Streamline the permitting process for upgrading and building new refineries
   • Approve and allow the private sector to build the Keystone pipeline
   • Remove barriers to developing and approving national pipelines and cross-border energy infrastructure
   • Increase energy development on federal land
   • Expand LNG exports by facilitating permits, ending the crude oil export ban, and preventing excessively broad environmental review of coal export terminals
5. Reducing the national deficit
   • Creation of the “Debt Freedom Fund” – which would direct all additional revenues generated by exploration and drilling on federal lands (excluding the share allocated to the states) exclusively to national debt reduction 

The AERA would not only create jobs, enhance American energy independence, reduce trade barriers, but would allow America to reach its full energy potential.  In stark contrast, the President and the EPA have consistently killed jobs through onerous EPA regulations and their continued opposition to the Keystone XL pipeline. Federal overregulation of the economy has stifled America’s quest for domestic energy independence by unnecessarily locking up key energy reserves.

Sen. Cruz’s American Renaissance Act would breathe new life into America’s economy and begin to undue the failed energy policies of the Obama Administration and the EPA.

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Cruz/Bridenstine American Energy Renaissance Act

top Federal Hindrance of American Energy Renaissance and Related Jobs.

Prevent Federal Regulation of Hydraulic Fracturing.

• Leave regulation of hydraulic fracturing in state hands

Improve Domestic Refining Capacity.

• Streamline the permitting process for upgrading existing and building new refineries
• Repeal (with phase out) the Renewable Fuel Standard

Improve Process to Develop Energy Infrastructure.

• Approve and allow private sector to build the Keystone pipeline
• Remove barriers to developing and approving additional national pipelines and cross-border energy infrastructure

Stop EPA Overreach and the War on Coal.

• Exclude greenhouse gases from regulation by EPA and other federal agencies
• Stop certain EPA regulations that will adversely impact coal and electric power plants

Force Congress and the President to Vote on EPA Regulations that Kill Jobs.

• Require Congress and the President to approve EPA regulations with negative job impacts
• Support passage of the REINS Act (not included in this bill) to require congressional approval of all major rules and regulations

II. Expand Energy Development to Allow for More Private Sector Jobs.

Broaden Energy Development on Federal Land.

• Expand energy development on federal lands by providing states the option of leasing, permitting and regulating energy resources on federal lands within their borders
• If states decline, reform federal leasing, permitting and regulating by:
  • Streamlining permitting and expanding development on federal lands
  • Improving certainty in the leasing and development process
• In addition, expand energy development in National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska and on Indian Lands and open up the Coastal Plain of Alaska (ANWR) for development

Open Offshore Exploration.

• Expand the offshore areas of the Outer Continental Shelf available for development
• Streamline the permitting process for additional offshore exploration

Expand U.S. Energy Exports.

• Expand LNG exports by facilitating permits
• End the crude oil export ban
• Prevent excessively broad environmental review of coal export terminals

Dedicate Additional Revenues to Debt Reduction.

• Direct all additional revenues generated by exploration and drilling on federal lands (excluding the share allocated to the states) exclusively to national debt reduction trust fund—“Debt Freedom Fund”

Cruz-Bridenstine American Energy Renaissance Act.pdf

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house

Hide cosponsors who withdrew

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