Posted on 06/10/2009 5:24:41 AM PDT by reaganaut1
Badly outnumbered and months behind in the debate on energy and climate change, House Republicans plan to introduce an energy bill on Wednesday as an alternative to the Democratic plan barreling toward a House vote this month.
The Republican proposal, drafted by a group led by Representative Mike Pence of Indiana, leans heavily on nuclear power, setting a goal of building 100 reactors over the next 20 years. No new nuclear plants have been ordered in the United States since 1978 because of the high cost of construction and uncertainty about regulatory approval.
The bill also provides incentives for increased oil and gas production on public and private lands and offshore. It would also authorize oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska, a focus of 30 years of controversy in Congress.
The Republican measure does not include any mandatory cap on emissions of heat-trapping gases, relying instead on nuclear energy, natural gas and renewable fuels like wind, solar and biomass power to reduce production of the gases, which have been linked to global warming.
“This is an alternative that takes us in the direction of energy independence and a clean environment without the national energy tax being offered by the Democrats,” Mr. Pence said.
At forums around the country, he said, people expressed a desire for more energy from domestic sources and concern about rising fuel prices. “A minority in Congress plus the American people equals a majority,” he said.
Republican officials said they were intending to offer the proposal, known as the American Energy Act, as a substitute for the bill sponsored by Representatives Henry A. Waxman of California and Edward J. Markey of Massachusetts, both Democrats.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Too bad they did not do this when they actually had power. Now it is a meaningless exercise. Maybe after the Dems completely screw things up the GOP can get it right next time....
Nuclear plants haven’t been built because of Democrats. They are the safest/cleanest form of energy available and the libs won’t allow them because they use RADIATION!
Pray for America
And where will we store the waste? Osama cut funding for Yucca Mountain.
See: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2009/05/20/Obama-cutting-money-for-Yucca-Mountain/UPI-78381242853775/
If we’d recycle our nuclear waste, we’d need much less room and much less time to store it.
They need to get moderate and “spineless” Dems to join them on this one..
But where were the Rs when they WERE in power?
Now it’s useless.
Wrong-o, oh mighty righty! This is exactly what the Republicans need to do, not just say "No", but provide reasonable alternatives to the Socialists.
Of course, nothing that a Republican does will measure up to the standards of a "principled conservative"! That is the RATS secret weapon. They can always get the "principled conservatives", who are usually single-issue conservatives, as well, to sit on their hands and send the Republicans a message on election day.
My teenage son has a name for that "principled conservative"..."TOOL"!
The Rs never were in power. They had a slim majority in the sinate that could alway be stopped. 1 vote stopped Bush’s energy bill, unfortunately it was McCain.
Pray for America
Certainly it is a great point to make and needs to be made. My issue is, why wasn’t this done in 2004 or even during the election cycle in 2008. The GOP could have done something about when they had power, or at least help them not to get slaughtered in the election. But instead they waited until desperation time to start acting like conservatives again. Right now there is no reason to believe politicians on this.
10 plants a year is completely unrealistic and only shows how desperate the Republican Party is to gain some traction against the Democrats. I’m a real fan of Nuclear power and think it is exactly what we need, but any “alternative” energy bill still needs to be realistic even if there isn’t a chance it will be taken seriously, these people are House Representatives and shouldn’t be acting like children.
McCain.....grrrrrr.
whoops, morning math a bit off here, 5 plants a year, not 10. The point still stands though, its still an unrealistic amount of power plant construction.
I thought only Iran and North Korea were allowed to build nuclear power plants.
I’d love someone to ask Gibbs at a press conference, “If it’s ok for Iran and NK to build nuclear power plants, why wouldn’t it be ok for us to do so?”
I’m an engineer for a supplier of nuclear power plants.
100 plants in 20 years would be difficult to accomplish if you assume an even 5 plants a year. If it was loaded more heavily towards the end of the 20 year period, it might be doable.
Difficult. Not impossible.
Right now the worldwlde capacity for heavy forging is booked for the next decade, and it is all in foreign countries. This is the biggest bottleneck for rapid expansion of nuclear power. If we had orders for 100 domestic plants that had to be filled in 20 years, then we would almost certainly open heavy forging capabilities in the United States.
The NRC has been extending the licenses of nuclear power plants from 40 years of operation to 60 years of operation. By 2030, the 60-year license of 45 domestic plants will have expired. We need 45 plants in 20 years just to replace our present capacity. 100 plants in 20 years would replace present capacity with new plants and account for growth.
Right now, there is roughly $117 billion in requests for loan guarantees for new nuclear power plants. The government program for loan guarantees is limited to $12 billion.
I conclude:
1) The bill has a goal that is possible. Difficult, but possible.
2) The bill recognizes the need to replace present capacity and allows for growth.
3) There is presently a demand for this number of plants.
We cannot beat this game as it will always be rigged against us.
I agree, if every time our side stands up and does speak out and we beat them up for not speaking out long ago, how long will it be before even the few taking a stand stay silent.
The other day on TV I saw a conservative Senator being interviewed, and he said there is no point to making noise right now about the left since Republicans are in the minority. Good grief! I wish he would listen better. We are watching, keeping track of those that do speak out, the ones that speak out when it is not popular and they don't have the majority to back them up. Those are the ones that if thanked now will be the heros later. imo
The past is the past, I am so tired of seeing people complaining about how the Republicans messed up when they had a chance. Yes they did mess up, but that is history and we need to start to write a new one, a conservative one and stop beating our side up about it.
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