WASHINGTON -- The U.S. House of Representatives approved the Refinery Permit Process Schedule Act on Wednesday, which supporters said will make it easier for oil companies to build or expand refineries, although opponents said it could lead to more pollution and less local involvement in choosing sites, said the Associated Press.
The bill's sponsors argued that refinery constraints have added to the tight gasoline market that has seen prices at the pumprise to more than $3 a gallon nationwide. But they acknowledged the measure is not intended to address [image-nocss] this summer's high gasoline prices.
The House passed the refinery legislation by a vote of 238 to 179. But its prospects in the Senate are uncertain. Last year a similar bill failed to get out of committee amid solid opposition by Democrats and moderate Republicans.
U.S. Representative Joe Barton (R-Texas), chairman of the House Energy & Commerce Committee, said during House floor debate on the Refinery Permit Process Schedule Act, This bill is part of an overall set of actions by this body to deal with long-term energy security issues in our country. The message that we hear from home is, America needs American energy.' One part of that need is for more domestic refining capacity. Witness after witness at a number of our hearings in the Energy & Commerce Committee have told us so.
He added, Without more refinery capacity domestically, prices are squeezed ever upward. We are relying more and more on imported refined products as well as imported crude oil. Why isn't there more domestic capacity? Why haven't new refineries in this country been built in the last 30 years? One reason is surely regulatory uncertainty caused by bureaucratic delays in the current permitting process. H.R. 5254 addresses that problem head-on while preserving every single existing statute providing for environmental protection and opportunity for public participation.
Click here to read the full text of Barton's remarks.
Click here to read the comments of other Republican representatives.
Democrats maintained that the proposed streamlining would weaken state and local officials' ability to consider environmental impacts and allow the federal government to dictate a schedule for refinery approval. They also worried that a community may have a refinery forced on them at a nearby closed military base. They proposed, instead, the creation of a string of government-run refineries that would be used to supply the military in normal times, and supplement commercial refining activities if there is a disruption or other energy emergency. But Republican leaders barred amendments to the bill.
Also, Democrats contended the oil companies had made financial decisions not to pursue new refineries, opting instead to expand existing refineries. "The oil companies themselves have told us environmental regulations themselves are simply not the problem," said Rep. Rick Boucher (D-Va.). "We need to build more refineries," he said, but the GOP bill "is simply not the answer.Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.