It not like it is an entitlement that will be hard to undue, and when everyone has to start paying 2 or 3 times more for gas, electricity, water, and everything else under the sun the democrats will be blamed universally and be thrown out of office in 2010. At which point this can be easily repealed to an avalanche of praise from everyone.
The KEY and this is CRITICAL is that the democrats are seen as pushing this through over the objections of republicans, that way blaim can be squarely placed on the liberal idiots.
Just got off the phone with my rep.’s DC office (Lincoln Davis - Dem - TN04).
She said he will vote no. Her tone was not so friendly. I took this to mean she’s been spending a lot of time answering the phone.
Keep it up!!!
plan “B”
Plan “A” Just say NO!
or in ml/nj case, say it with passion and emphasis!
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and expletive!
Welcome to FR.
“democrats are seen as pushing this through over the objections of republicans, that way blaim can be squarely placed on the liberal idiots”
I’m sitting here watching this sham on C-Span. The left wouldn’t permit one extra minute of debate. They added another ream’s worth of paper on this bill sometime early this morning! Once again, no one has read the bill. There should be a limit to the number of pages for every bill.
I have been sending emails to my representatives in D.C. about all of this leftist garbage. Any chance they will ever listen to the people they represent?
I have been feeling hopeless about this situation. I’m thinking you are exactly right! This bill’s passage may well be the key to a return to sanity in 2010 AND 2012. It’s time to fire these rascals. Thank you for giving me a different view here.
Pass the bill, then pay tribute to Michael Jackson. Perfect. Now we know what’s really important here.
I wish I could be so sure. Have you read the thing, or even parts of it? I've been searching for the word "poverty" in it.
$50 Million Seems Like a Good Number
SEC. 264. LOW INCOME COMMUNITY ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAM."Mission-driven community development organizations" don't seem to be likely to be ones to give up on the gravy train without violence.(a) In General- The Secretary of Energy is authorized to make grants to private, nonprofit, mission-driven community development organizations including community development corporations and community development financial institutions to provide financing to businesses and projects that improve energy efficiency; identify and develop alternative, renewable, and distributed energy supplies; provide technical assistance and promote job and business opportunities for low-income residents; and increase energy conservation in low income rural and urban communities.
(b) Grants- The purpose of such grants is to increase the flow of capital and benefits to low income communities, minority-owned and woman-owned businesses and entrepreneurs and other projects and activities located in low income communities in order to reduce environmental degradation, foster energy conservation and efficiency and create job and business opportunities for local residents. The Secretary may make grants on a competitive basis for--
(1) investments that develop alternative, renewable, and distributed energy supplies;(c) Authorization of Appropriations- For the purposes of this section there is authorized to be appropriated $50,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2010 through 2015.(2) capitalizing loan funds that lend to energy efficiency projects and energy conservation programs;
(3) technical assistance to plan, develop, and manage an energy efficiency financing program; and
(4) technical and financial assistance to assist small-scale businesses and private entities develop new renewable and distributed sources of power or combined heat and power generation.
ML/NJ
SEC. 432. ENERGY REFUND PROGRAM FOR LOW-INCOME CONSUMERS.(a) Energy Refund Program-
(1) The Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, or the agency designated by the Administrator shall formulate and administer the `Energy Refund Program'.(b) Eligibility-(2) At the request of the State agency, eligible low-income households within the State shall receive a monthly cash energy refund equal to the estimated loss in purchasing power resulting from this Act.
(1) ELIGIBLE HOUSEHOLDS- Participation in the Energy Refund Program shall be limited to a household that--(c) Monthly Energy Refund Amount-(A) the State agency determines to be participating in (i) the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program authorized by the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.); (ii) the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations authorized by section 4(b) of such Act (7 U.S.C. 2013(b)); or (iii) the program for nutrition assistance in Puerto Rico or American Samoa under section 19 of the such Act (7 U.S.C. 2028);(2) STREAMLINED ELIGIBILITY FOR CERTAIN BENEFICIARIES- The Administrator, in consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Commissioner of Social Security, the Railroad Retirement Board, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and the State agencies shall develop procedures to ensure that low-income beneficiaries of the benefit programs they administer receive the energy refund for which they are eligible.(B) has gross income that does not exceed 150 percent of the poverty line; or
(C) consists of a single individual or a married couple and (i) receives the subsidy described in section 1860D-14 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395w-114); or (ii)(I) participates in the program under section XVIII of the Social Security Act; and (II) meets the income requirements described in section 1860D-14(a)(1) or (a)(2) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1395w-114(a)(1) or (a)(2)).
(3) LIMITATION- Notwithstanding any provision of law, the Administrator shall establish procedures to ensure that individuals that qualify for the refund under paragraph (1)(B) and that do not participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program are United States citizens, United States nationals, or individuals lawfully residing in the United States.
(4) NATIONAL STANDARDS- The Administrator shall establish uniform national standards of eligibility in accordance with the provisions of this section. No State agency shall impose any other standard or requirement as a condition of eligibility or refund receipt under the program. Assistance in the Energy Refund Program shall be furnished promptly to all eligible households who make application for such participation.
(1) MONTHLY ENERGY REFUND- The monthly refund under this subsection for households of 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 or more members shall be equal to the maximum energy tax credit amount calculated under section 36B(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 for each household size, divided by 12 and rounded to the nearest whole dollar amount.(d) Delivery Mechanism-(2) MONTHLY ELIGIBILITY- A household shall not be eligible for the refund under this section for months that the household has not established eligibility under subsection (b).
(1) Subject to standards and an implementation schedule set by the Administrator, the energy refund shall be provided in monthly installments via--(e) Information About Refund Provided to Households and Internal Revenue Service-(A) direct deposit into the eligible household's designated bank account;(2) Such standards shall include--(B) the State's electronic benefit transfer system; or
(C) another Federal or State mechanism, if such a mechanism is approved by the Administrator.
(A)(i) defining the required level of recipient protection regarding privacy; (ii) guidance on how recipients are offered choices, when relevant, about the delivery mechanism; (iii) guidance on ease of use and access to the refund, including the prohibition of fees charged to recipients for withdrawals or other services; and (iv) cost-effective protections against improper accessing of the energy refund;(B) operating standards that provide for interoperability between States and law enforcement monitoring; and
(C) other standards, as determined by the Administrator or the Administrator's designee.
(1) By January 31 of each year, for each adult that was a member of a household that received an energy refund under this section in the State during the prior calendar year, each State shall issue a form that conforms to standards established by the Secretary of the Treasury under section 36B(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, containing--(f) Administration-(A) the name, address, and social security number of the adult household member; and(2) States shall provide this information to the Internal Revenue Service in accordance to standards and regulations set forth by the Secretary of the Treasury.(B) the number of months the individual was a member of a household that received an energy refund under this section.
(1) IN GENERAL- The State agency of each participating State shall assume responsibility for the certification of applicant households and for the issuance of refunds and the control and accountability thereof.(g) Treatment- The value of the refund provided under this Act shall not be considered income or resources for any purpose under any Federal, State, or local laws, including, but not limited to, laws relating to an income tax, or public assistance programs (including, but not limited to, health care, cash aid, child care, nutrition programs, and housing assistance) and no participating State or political subdivision thereof shall decrease any assistance otherwise provided an individual or individuals because of the receipt of a refund under this Act.(2) PROCEDURES- Under standards established by the Administrator, the State agency shall establish procedures governing the administration of the Energy Refund Program that the State agency determines best serve households in the State, including households with special needs, such as households with elderly or disabled members, households in rural areas, homeless individuals, and households residing on reservations as defined in the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 and the Indian Financing Act of 1974. In carrying out this paragraph, a State agency--
(A) shall provide timely, accurate, and fair service to applicants for, and participants in, the Energy Refund Program;(3) REGULATIONS-(B) shall permit an applicant household to apply to participate in the program at the time that the household first contacts the State agency, and shall consider an application that contains the name, address, and signature of the applicant to be sufficient to constitute an application for participation;
(C) shall screen any applicant household for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the State's medical assistance program under section XIX of the Social Security Act, State Childrens Health Insurance Program under section XXI of the Social Security Act, and a State program that provides basic assistance under a State program funded under title IV of the Social Security Act or with qualified State expenditures as defined in section 409(a)(7) of the Social Security Act for eligibility for the Energy Refund Program and, if eligible, shall enroll such applicant household in the Energy Refund Program;
(D) shall complete certification of and provide a refund to any eligible household not later than thirty days following its filing of an application;
(E) shall use appropriate bilingual personnel and materials in the administration of the program in those portions of the State in which a substantial number of members of low-income households speak a language other than English; and
(F) shall utilize State agency personnel who are employed in accordance with the current standards for a Merit System of Personnel Administration or any standards later prescribed by the Office of Personnel Management pursuant to section 208 of the Intergovernmental Personnel Act of 1970 (42 U.S.C. 4728) modifying or superseding such standards relating to the establishment and maintenance of personnel standards on a merit basis to make all tentative and final determinations of eligibility and ineligibility.
(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B) the Administrator shall issue such regulations consistent with this section as the Administrator deems necessary or appropriate for the effective and efficient administration of the Energy Refund Program and shall promulgate all such regulations in accordance with the procedures set forth in section 553 of title 5, United States Code.(B) Without regard to section 553 of title 5 of such Code, the Administrator may, during the period beginning with the effective date of this section and ending two years after such date, by rule promulgate as final any procedures that are substantially the same as the procedures governing the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program at 7 C.F.R. 273.2, 273.12.273.15.
(h) Program Integrity- For purposes of ensuring program integrity and complying with the requirements of the Improper Payment Information Act of 2002, the Administrator shall--
(1) to the maximum extent possible rely on and coordinate with the quality control sample and review procedures of section 16(c)(2), (3), (4), and (5) of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program; and(i) Definitions-(2) develop procedures to monitor the compliance with and accuracy of State agencies in providing forms to household members and the Internal Revenue Service under subsection (f).
(1) ADMINISTRATOR- The term `Administrator' means the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency or the head of another agency designated by the Administrator.Subtitle D--Exporting Clean Technology(2) ELECTRONIC BENEFIT TRANSFER SYSTEM- The term `electronic benefit transfer system' means a system by which household benefits or refunds defined under subsection (d) are issued from and stored in a central databank via electronic benefit transfer cards.
(3) GROSS INCOME- The term `gross income' means the gross income of a household that is determined in accordance with standards and procedures established under section 5 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2014) and its implementing regulations.
(4) HOUSEHOLD- The term `household' means--
(A)(i) except as provided in subparagraph (C), an individual or a group of individuals who are a household under section 3(n) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2012(n)); and (ii) a single individual or married couple that receive benefits under section 1860D-14 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395w-114).(5) POVERTY LINE- The term `poverty line' has the meaning given the term in section 673(2) of the Community Services Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9902(2)), including any revision required by that section.(B) The Administrator shall establish rules for providing the energy refund in an equitable and administratively simple manner to households where the group of individuals who live together includes a combination of members described in clauses (i) and (ii) of subparagraph (A), or includes additional members not described in clause (i) or clause (ii) of subparagraph (A).
(C) The Administrator shall establish rules regarding the eligibility and delivery of the energy refund to groups of individuals described in section 3(n)(4) or (5) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2012(n)).
(6) STATE- The term `State' means the 50 States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, American Samoa, the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
(7) STATE AGENCY- The term `State agency' means an agency of State government, including the local offices thereof, that has responsibility for administration of the 1 or more federally aided public assistance programs within the State, and in those States where such assistance programs are operated on a decentralized basis, the term shall include the counterpart local agencies administering such programs.
(8) OTHER TERMS- Other terms not defined in this Act shall have the same meaning applied in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program unless the Administrator finds for good cause that application of a particular definition would be detrimental to the purposes of the Energy Refund Program.
SEC. 441. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.
(a) Findings- Congress finds the following:(1) Protecting Americans from the impacts of climate change requires global reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.(b) Purposes- The purposes of this subtitle are--(2) Although developing countries are historically least responsible for the cumulative greenhouse gas emissions that are causing climate change and continue to have very low per capita greenhouse gas emissions, their overall greenhouse gas emissions are increasing as they seek to grow their economies and reduce energy poverty for their populations.
(3) Many developing countries lack the financial and technical resources to adopt clean energy technologies and absent assistance their greenhouse gas emissions will continue to increase.
(4) Investments in clean energy technology cooperation can substantially reduce global greenhouse gas emissions while providing developing countries with incentives to adopt policies that will address competitiveness concerns related to regulation of United States greenhouse gas emissions.
(5) Investments in clean technology in developing countries will increase demand for clean energy products, open up new markets for United States companies, spur innovation, and lower costs.
(6) Under Article 4 of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, developed country parties, including the United States, committed to `take all practicable steps to promote, facilitate, and finance, as appropriate, the transfer of, or access to, environmentally sound technologies and know-how to other parties, particularly developing country parties, to enable them to implement the provisions of the Convention'.
(7) Under the Bali Action Plan, developed country parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, including the United States, committed to `enhanced action on the provision of financial resources and investment to support action on mitigation and adaptation and technology cooperation,' including, inter alia, consideration of `improved access to adequate, predictable, and sustainable financial resources and financial and technical support, and the provision of new and additional resources, including official and concessional funding for developing country parties'.
(1) to provide United States assistance and leverage private resources to encourage widespread implementation, in developing countries, of activities that reduce, sequester, or avoid greenhouse gas emissions; and(2) to provide such assistance in a manner that--
(A) encourages such countries to adopt policies and measures, including sector-based and cross-sector policies and measures, that substantially reduce, sequester, or avoid greenhouse gas emissions; and(B) promotes the successful negotiation of a global agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.