CEAC-2020-04-April

News
Senate Energy Bill Falls Apart Amid
Dispute Over Coolants By Matthew Daly | Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — It was supposed to be a bipartisan
moment for the Senate.
But now a sweeping energy package touted as a “down
payment” on fighting climate change is falling apart amid a
push to limit coolants used in air conditioners and refrigerators.
The energy legislation would boost efficiency and authorize
billions of dollars to develop a wide range of clean energy
options to limit greenhouse gas emissions that contribute
to global warming. The measure also would enhance grid
security and support efforts to capture and remove carbon
emissions from coal and natural gas plants.
The bill is widely supported in both parties but stalled this
week amid a dispute over a proposed amendment to impose
a 15-year phasedown of hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs, that
are used as coolants in refrigerators and air conditioners.
HFCs are considered a major driver of global warming and
are being phased out worldwide.
Republican Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana and Democratic
Sen. Tom Carper of Delaware pushed for the amendment,
which they said would give U.S. companies needed certainty
to produce “next-generation” coolants as an alternative to
HFCs. Both men represent states that are home to companies
that produce the alternative refrigerants.
The Kennedy-Carper amendment is supported by at least
three dozen senators, including 17 Republicans who signed
on as co-sponsors. But the amendment is opposed by Senate
GOP leadership, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch
McConnell and Sen. John Barrasso, chairman of the Senate
Environment and Public Works Committee.
Barrasso, R-Wyo., said the measure could add a layer of new
federal rules on a patchwork of current or future state rules
regarding HFCs. He wants language in the amendment ensuring
that states will not impose stricter requirements than
the federal rule.
Proponents said states are likely to adhere to the federal
standard, as they have done on other environmental issues,
and said language preempting state action would set a bad
precedent.
With no agreement on the HFC language, the energy bill
was derailed March 9 on a procedural vote, 47-44. The vote
was well short of the 60 votes needed to proceed to a floor
debate.
The bill’s path forward was unclear the following day, as
both sides lashed out over who was to blame.
“It is beyond frustrating to have our bill, which contains priorities
from more than 70 senators, held up by an unrelated
dispute that was never part of our discussions in the lead-up
to this floor process,” said Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska,
who co-sponsored the bill with Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va.
Murkowski, who chairs the Senate energy committee, said
lawmakers “will regroup and look for a path forward, but
finding one will require members to be more reasonable and
accommodating than they have been in the last week.”
Manchin, the energy panel’s top Democrat, said it was “a
shame” that the energy committee’s good work “was impacted
by the Environment and Public Works Committee’s
inability to reach consensus.” Manchin called the bill “a
down payment on emissions-reducing technologies” that will
reassert U.S. leadership in global markets.
McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, said he was was disappointed
at the impasse, but denied he was to blame.
16
| Chief Engineer