Congress Reaches Stimulus Compromise
02/12/2009
SustainableBusiness.com News
Congressional negotiators in the House of Representatives and the Senate agreed late Wednesday night on a $789 billion stimulus bill.
President Obama could sign the bill in a matter of days, marking the end of his administration's first legislative battle, in which it was barely able to scrape up enough Republican support to pass the bill in the Senate. If anything is clear from the process, it is that the hopes for bi-partisan cooperation on future legislation may be empty.
The complete terms of the compromise are not yet available. However a Bloomberg report yesterday said negotiators were considering dropping $7.7 billion in renewable-energy grants. House and Senate versions of the bill were separated by a difference of roughly $14 billion on cleantech spending.
However, numerous environmental groups are celebrating the removal of $50 billion in loan guarantees that could have been used by the nuclear and coal industries, as well as for renewable energy projects.
"This is a big victory for common sense and the American taxpayer," said Kevin Kamps of Beyond Nuclear who helped lead the campaign on Capitol Hill to cut the $50 billion for nuclear power. "The nuclear industry cannot solve the climate crisis and fattening the nuclear calf has deprived real energy solutions like renewable energy and energy efficiency programs of essential support for decades."
The Nuclear Energy Institute, an industry association, noted that the Innovative Technology Loan Guarantee Program could have supported all energy projects that avoid, reduce or store air pollutants or greenhouse gases and employ new or significantly improved technologies--not just nuclear.
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The economic stimulus bill includes more than $9 billion for the Interior Department and the Environmental Protection Agency. The money would be used to shutter abandoned mines on public lands, to help local governments protect drinking water supplies, and to erect energy-efficient visitor centers at wildlife refuges and national parks.
For a summary of these and other environmental projects tha could be funded when President Obama signs the bill, read the Associated Press coverage at the link below.
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