Bills to Reduce Home Energy Costs Advance, Including Thompson-Cosponsored Measure to Address Propane Shortages

Measures to Improve Energy Efficiency, Reduce Consumer Heating and Electricity Costs

Washington, D.C. – March 12, 2014 – (RealEstateRama) — The U.S. House of Representatives this week passed a series of legislative measures that will improve energy efficiency and decrease home heating and electricity costs, including a bill sponsored by U.S. Representative Glenn ‘GT’ Thompson, PA-5, the Home Heating Emergency Assistance Through Transportation (HHEATT) Act (H.R. 4076), which addresses recent propane shortages and supply disruptions.

“This winter, communities across the commonwealth and country have endured increases in energy costs due to above average demand and disruptions in supply chains,” Thompson said. “The HHEATT Act will make it easier for home heating fuels to get to customers in affected states.”

On February 5, 2014, the U.S. Department of Transportation issued temporary emergency declarations to allow tank truck operators delivering propane and other home heating fuels to drive for longer hours to speed up deliveries to affected states. The HHEATT Act, which provides a guaranteed extension of the emergency declarations until May 31, 2014, passed on Wednesday with unanimous support.

Earlier in February, Thompson along with 72 bipartisan colleagues sent a letter to President Obama, urging greater attention and a more immediate response to the growing propane crisis.

“The House has continued to build bipartisan support for and advance policies that allow greater access to more affordable energy sources,” Thompson stated. “This week, we again accomplished these goals and passed commonsense proposals that make the cost of energy that much more affordable and the path to energy security that much more attainable.”

The House on Wednesday by a vote of 375 to 36 passed H.R. 2126, the Energy Efficiency Improvement Act, a package of energy reforms that use market-driven and voluntary approaches to harness new technologies and support private sector innovation for more efficient ways of utilizing energy.

On Thursday, the House by a vote of 229 to 183 passed H.R. 3826, the Electricity Security and Affordability Act, which promotes a diverse electricity portfolio by allowing coal, which supplies nearly 40 percent of U.S. electricity needs, to remain a key source of energy that Americans use to affordably light homes and businesses.

Also on Thursday, the House by a vote of 229 to 179 passed H.R. 2641, the Responsibly And Professionally Invigorating Development (RAPID) Act, to expedite federal permitting for over 350 proposed coal, natural gas, nuclear, and wind energy projects to support job growth and expand more affordable domestic energy sources.