The budget act that the House of Representatives passed last week (the “Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act for FY2011”) contains several provisions that will impact biobased industry if it becomes law. The following amendments were included in the final bill:
- Sec. 1746 prohibits the EPA from rejecting state implementation plans under the Clean Air Act because of concerns regarding greenhouse gas emissions.
- Sec. 4009 eliminates funding for the White House positions of Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change, Special Envoy for Climate Change, and Special Advisor for Green Jobs.
- Sec. 4037 bars the use of federal funds for the construction of ethanol blender pumps and storage facilities.
- Sec. 4042 prohibits federal funding of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
- Sec. 4043 prohibits the EPA from implementing an E15 blend rate.
- Sec. 4045 prohibits the EPA from regulating fossil fuel combustion waste.
The act also cuts several hundred million dollars from the EPA’s overall budget. The full text is available here.
The act still needs to be passed by the Senate and signed by President Obama before it becomes law. It is unlikely to pass both milestones due to opposition among Senate Democrats to the cuts it implements and President Obama’s pledge to veto the act in its current form. That said, the House Republicans and Senate Democrats will need to arrive at a compromise if a budget is to be passed at all. Given the bipartisan support for the two ethanol amendments, there is a good chance that one or both will be included in the final budget signed by the president.