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Key Vote: CEIP Amendment
Vote h457-2016

The House will soon vote on the FY 2017 Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill. The underlying legislation is a step forward and includes several promising policy provisions. One amendment, offered by Rep. Ratcliffe, will prohibit wasteful spending by blocking funds from being used to implement the Clean Energy Incentive Program (CEIP), part of the Administration\'s crusade against affordable, reliable energy. The American Energy Alliance supports this measure and urges all Representatives vote YES.

In June 2016, the Administration issued a proposed rule for CEIP design details. The CEIP is a program for states to apply for early credit under the so-called “Clean Power Plan” (CPP). In essence, the CEIP will incentivize the unnecessary shuttering of reliable power plants and instead  construct expensive, intermittent energy sources -- specifically wind and solar power. Basically, states issue credits to compliant energy projects and the EPA matches said credit.

The CEIP is a quasi-grant/credit program (the Environmental Protection Agency calls them “allowances”) that incentivizes funding to projects that may not be entirely necessary, viable, or cost effective. In the proposed rule, the EPA does not specify if a qualified energy project must be commercially viable. That’s the whole point: without an incentive like the CEIP (or wind Production Tax Credit or solar Investment Tax Credit) this whole operation would be economically unfeasible. Replacing affordable and reliable energy sources like natural gas and coal with wind and solar is simply too expensive -- and technically unsound -- to make any sense.

Further, the Supreme Court stayed the implementation of the CPP earlier this year. This means the deadlines were all tolled, or delayed, including the CEIP. In fact, 112 Representatives recently requested Administrator McCarthy to clarify her statements regarding the stay. The legal debate surrounding the CPP (and the CEIP) will be tangled up in courts for months, far beyond this appropriations cycle. Federal funds should not be obligated towards the CEIP, especially as it’s legal standing is shaky.

Rep. Ratcliffe’s amendment would block taxpayer dollars from going towards this program. This amendment should be supported by any Representative who values fiscal responsibility and accountability. The American Energy Alliance urges all Representatives vote YES on the Ratcliffe CEIP amendment.


AEA Position: Yes

Vote result on 2016-07-14

Agreed to

(231 to 197)


  • Voted Yes
  • Voted No
  • Did Not Vote
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