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National Legislative Actions From the Past Session

Click here for Missouri Legislative Actions

 

Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008

(read the bill)

  • Expansion of food nutrition and assistance programs and country-of-origin labeling for meat and produce
  • Accelerates the commercialization of advanced biofuels, including cellulosic ethanol, encourage the production of biomass crops, and expand the current Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Program
  • Provides $1 billion to fund renewable energy and bioenergy technologies
  • Farm program safety net expanded and revised, farm conservation and crop insurance programs put into place
  • Provides monies for food assistance in underdeveloped countries

 

Climate Security Act of 2008

  • Requires the EPA Administrator to establish a greenhouse gas registry and to set forth emission allowances for 2012-2050 with a declining cap on GHGs
  • Establishes a domestic offset program to sequester GHGs
  • Establishes new qualifying levels and requirements of Energy Star certification for retail carbon offsets
  • Provides for the allocation and distribution of emission allowances to states and facilities on the basis of emission reductions, energy savings, state programs than exceed federal targets, low-income home energy assistance programs, and potential carbon dioxide targets
  • Require the President to establish an interagency group to determine whether foreign countries have addressed GHGs

 

Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007

(Read the bill)

Energy security

  • Increased CAFE standards. Automakers are required to boost fleetwide gas mileage to 35 mpg by 2020. This applies to all passenger automobiles, including "light trucks."
  • Required vehicle technology and transportation electrification. Incentives for the development of plug-in hybrids
  • Taxpayer funding for increased production of biofuels. The Energy Act further specifies that 21 billion gallons of the 2022 total must be derived from non-cornstarch products (e.g. sugar or cellulose).

 

Energy savings

  • Revises standards for appliances and lighting
  • Requires roughly 25 percent greater efficiency for light bulbs, phased in from 2012 through 2014

    This effectively bans the sale of most current incandescent light bulbs.

  • Requires roughly 200 percent greater efficiency for light bulbs, or similar energy savings, by 2020
  • New initiatives for promoting conservation in buildings and industry
  • Requires all lighting in Federal buildings to use Energy Star products
  • New standards and grants for promoting efficiency in government and public institutions
  • Taxpayer funding of research and development of solar energy, geothermal energy, and marine and hydrokinetic renewable energy technologies
  • Green jobs - creation of a training program for "Energy efficiency and renewable energy workers"
  • Energy transportation and infrastructure, new initiatives for highway, sea and railroad infrastructure
  • Smart grid - modernization of the electricity grid to improve reliability and efficiency

 

Water Resources Development Act (read the bill)

  • Authorizes and provides for specified water resources development and conservation projects
  • Implements projects for navigation, environmental restoration, ecosystem restoration, hurricane and storm damage reduction, and flood damage reduction
  • Addresses public access to water resource and related water quality data
  • Recommends a framework for a long-term program of wetlands protection, conservation and restoration in coastal Louisiana
  • Allows pre-construction assistance to state and local governments for remediation, environmental restoration or reuse of specified areas