Super Committee Nears Deadline, Considers Recommendations on Energy

Nov. 16, 2011 Update: Since this article was published on Nov. 3, the Super Committee has yet to make a deficit-reduction deal, remaining stymied on issues such as tax reform. On Nov. 13, President Barack Obama urged the six Democratic and six Republican lawmakers on the Committee to “bite the bullet” and put their differences aside to make a debt deal by next week’s Nov. 23 deadline. In an effort to meet this deadline and avoid a breakdown of U.S. financial markets, Committee members might opt to push off tough decisions on taxes until next year, perhaps into a lame-duck session after the presidential election.

Washington, D.C., Nov. 3, 2011 — The Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, commonly known as the Super Committee, is approaching its Nov. 23 deadline to issue a recommendation for at least $1.2 trillion in deficit reduction over 10 years.

“With time running short for Democrats and Republicans on the Joint Select Committee to produce a plan, the two sides are hearing out the recommendations of other lawmakers, outside groups and past deficit reduction commissions,” said Alliance to Save Energy Director of Government Relations Rob Mosher. “During this critical period, the Alliance is calling on the Committee to preserve funding for energy efficiency programs.”

Hearings Guide Internal Discussions

Although the Super Committee’s deliberations on the actual content of its proposal have been conducted behind closed doors, two public hearings were held in the last week. At these hearings, various experts offered insights on how the Committee should complete its task.

Discretionary Spending

During an Oct. 26 hearing, Congressional Budget Office Director Doug Elmendorf provided an overview of discretionary spending, which has already been limited over the next 10 years to reduce the deficit by $917 billion. Discretionary spending also is subject to an automatic, additional cut of at least $1.2 trillion if the Super Committee fails to offer a proposal, or if Congress is unsuccessful in approving the proposal by Dec. 23.

Deficit Reduction

Authors of past deficit reduction proposals testified at a Nov. 1 hearing to share their experiences crafting bipartisan plans. They emphasized the need for a comprehensive and balanced approach to reducing the deficit that would restructure entitlement programs and simplify the tax code.

Committee Members Receive Recommendations from Peers

Throughout the process, the Super Committee has solicited deficit reduction recommendations from authorizing and appropriations committees in the House of Representatives and Senate. Some of these letters recommend investments in energy efficiency to save money in the long run, while others recommended direct cuts to energy-related budgets:

• Home Star: Ranking Member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee Henry Waxman’s (D-Calif.) letter said that the Home Star Energy Retrofit Act (H.R. 5019, 111th Congress) is critical to “help[ing] three million families renovate their houses to be more energy efficient, resulting in $9.2 billion in estimated consumer savings on energy bills over the next 10 years.”
• R&D in the DOE: Ranking Member of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee Eddie Bernice Johnson’s (D -Texas) letter stressed the importance of research and development in the Department of Energy to stimulate the economy.
• EE tech: Democratic members of the Committee on House Administration recommended that the government use available technologies in heating and cooling to save energy and money. “Every Legislative Branch agency must focus not only on how its energy demands are being met, but on how it uses energy,” they wrote.
• Direct cuts: Several Republican members of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee’s letter recommended $1.5 trillion in cuts for Fiscal Year 2012. These cuts include a $600 billion reduction – or one-third – of the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s budget.

In addition to missives from House and Senate committees, the Super Committee also received a letter from the Alliance and members of the Energy Efficiency Coalition. In this letter, the Alliance and the EE Coalition urged committee co-chairs Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) to “bear in mind the full value of maintaining energy efficiency investments.”

More on the Super Committee

Want background on the Super Committee? Check out the Alliance’s previous coverage, which outlines how agencies and programs are prioritizing energy efficiency in the wake of budget cuts.

By Alliance Policy Intern Ali Levine