House Approves Cap-and-Trade, Energy Bill

On June 26, 2009, the U.S. House Representatives passed HR 2454, the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, sponsored by Representatives Waxman (D-CA) and Markey (D-MA). The final vote tally was 219-212, with 211 Democrats and 8 Republicans voting for the bill. A full vote breakdown may be found here. The House Energy and Commerce Committee approved the legislation on May 21, 2009, by a vote of 33-25.

The American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 would establish an economy-wide cap-and-trade program, federal renewable electricity standard, and other measures to reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions and promote low-carbon technologies, including energy efficiency.

Since the initial release of the discussion draft in March, M.J. Bradley & Associates, LLC (MJB&A) has been conducting extensive analysis of the bill, focusing in particular on the renewable energy provisions, the cap-and-trade program, and greenhouse gas offset provisions. As part of this analysis, MJB&A has prepared a detailed summary of the bill, a powerpoint summary of the bill, and an evaluation of the impacts on consumer electricity prices. Updated analysis including all amendments is available to clients only.

The Senate will consider a version of the legislation after the August recess.