Empower America: Securing America's Energy Future Act of 2006

Bill: 109-s-3926
Sponsor: Sen. Santorum, Rick [R-PA]
Introduced: 2006-09-21 in the Senate
Policy area: Energy
Subjects: Administrative procedure
Alaska
Alcohol as fuel
Alternative energy sources
Animals
Arctic and polar regions
Automobile industry
Biomass energy
California
Carbon cycle
Career education
Cellulose
Coal
Coastal zone
Commerce
Commercialization
Computers
Congress
Congressional agencies
Congressional employees
Continental shelf
Department of the Interior
Diesel motor
Economics and Public Finance
Education
Electric vehicles
Energy conservation
Energy efficiency
Energy prices
Energy research
Environmental Protection
Environmental assessment
Excise tax
Federal Trade Commission
Federal aid to education
Federal employees
Federally-guaranteed loans
Finance and Financial Sector
Fines (Penalties)
Florida
Fossil fuels
Fringe benefits
Fuel cells
Fuel consumption
Gas in submerged lands
Gasoline
Geology
Geophysical prediction
Government Operations and Politics
Government lending
Government publicity
Government trust funds
Higher education
Income tax
Independent regulatory commissions
Indian lands
Investment tax credit
Judicial review
Labor and Employment
Land transfers
Law
Licenses
Marine and coastal resources, fisheries
Mines and mineral resources
Mining engineering
Mining leases
Mining royalties
Minorities
Minority education
Natural gas
Ocean energy resources
Oil and gas leases
Oil and gas royalties
Oil shales
Oil well drilling
Petroleum
Petroleum in submerged lands
Petroleum industry
Petroleum refineries
Petroleum reserves
Profit
Prospecting
Public Lands and Natural Resources
Research and development
Restrictive trade practices
Right-of-way
Scholarships
Science, Technology, Communications
Submarine oil well drilling
Tax credits
Tax deductions
Tax exclusion
Taxation
Technological innovations
Telecommuting
Transportation and Public Works
Wildlife refuges

Summary:
action_date: 2006-09-21
text: 
Empower America: Securing America's Energy Future Act of 2006 - Coal-to-Liquid Fuel Promotion Act of 2006 - Amends the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to make eligible for Department of Energy (DOE) loan guarantees any large-scale coal-to-liquid facilities that use domestic coal resources to produce at least 10,000 barrels a day of liquid transportation fuel.
 
Directs the Secretary of Energy (Secretary) to establish a coal-to-liquid facilities loan program.
 
Instructs the Secretary of the Treasury to transfer funds to the Secretary for a clean coal power initiative.
 
Gas Petroleum Refiner Improvement and Community Empowerment Act, or the Gas PRICE Act - Obligates the Secretary of Commerce and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to take specified steps to streamline the petroleum refinery permitting process.
 
Deep Ocean Energy Resources Act of 2006 - Sets forth actions under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) with respect to oil and natural gas production from leased tracts within the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), especially the sharing of OCS receipts with neighboring states.
 
Rigs to Reefs Act of 2006 - Revises OCSLA to direct the Secretary of the Interior to issue regulations for authorizing use of a decommissioned offshore oil and gas platform or other facility for an artificial reef, scientific research, or any other authorized use.
 
Federal Energy Natural Resources Enhancement Fund Act of 2006 - Institutes a Federal Energy Natural Resources Enhancement Fund.
 
Energy and Mineral Schools Reinvestment Act - Instructs the Secretary of the Interior to provide funds to historic and existing state-chartered recognized petroleum or mining schools and related institutions.
 
National GEO Fund Act of 2006 - Creates a National Geo Fund for grants to support geothermal and geopressure oil and gas energy production, as well as a new program for fuel production from strategic unconventional resources and oil and gas resources using CO2 enhanced recovery.
 
Arctic Coastal Plain Domestic Energy Security Act of 2006 - Keeps specified areas in the Coastal Plain of Alaska, including the Sadlerochit Spring Area, separate from oil and natural gas leasing activity for purposes of environmental, wildlife, and cultural management. Requires the Secretary of the Interior to establish a competitive and environmentally sound oil and gas leasing program on the Coastal Plain. Specifies lease terms and related requirements.
 
Amends the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and Biomass Research and Development Act of 2000 to fund biomass and other renewable energy resource research and development.
 
Directs the Secretary of Energy to conduct an electric drive transportation technology research, development, demonstration, and commercial application program.
 
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) allow an income tax credit for qualified teleworking expenses; and (2) exclude employer-provided computer equipment from gross income as a fringe benefit.
 
Corporate Average Fuel Economy Reform Act of 2006 - Amends federal transportation law to require the Secretary of Transportation to revise average fuel economy standards for passenger automobiles.
 
Amends the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to provide funding for the Advanced Building Efficiency Testbed and energy efficient public building programs, and the energy efficiency public information initiative.
 
Gasoline Consumer Anti-Price-Gouging Protection Act - Prohibits suppliers from selling gasoline or petroleum distillates at unjustifiably increased prices in areas where the President or the Federal Trade Commission has proclaimed an emergency owing to an abnormal market disruption. Prescribes civil and criminal penalties. 
 
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend the excise tax credit for coal-to-liquids, the alternative motor vehicle credit, biodiesel income and excise tax credits, the investment tax credit with respect to solar energy property and qualified fuel cell property, the credit for production of natural gas, and the credit for residential energy efficient property. 
 
Extends specified tax incentives to encourage cellulosic ethanol production and the renewable electricity production credit.
 
Amends the Clean Air Act to revise the authority of the EPA Administrator to make boutique fuel reductions.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2006-09-21
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2006-09-21
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S9904-9906)
action_date: 2006-09-21
text: Introduced in Senate