Rehberg Criticizes House Rules Committee Decision to Reject Coal to Liquids Amendment to Energy Bill
WASHINGTON, DC - Montana’s Congressman, Denny Rehberg, criticized a decision by Democrat members of the House Rules Committee to block his amendment to the House Energy bill. Rehberg’s amendment would have created a federal loan program for future Coal-to-Liquids (CTL) projects creating a greater opportunity for them to succeed.
“The energy bill that passed the House on Saturday only covers part of the whole picture in terms of a comprehensive energy plan,” said Rehberg, a member of the House Appropriations Committee. “I was disappointed to see that critical energy alternatives such as CTL were not included. My amendment would have changed that. Unfortunately, the Democratic leadership prevented me from including it. I’ll continue to fight for these much-needed provisions in future House legislation.”
Though Montana has the largest recoverable coal reserves in the United States, it ranks only sixth in coal production. Rehberg’s amendment seeks to reduce the financial risk for those looking to invest in CTL production by authorizing the Secretary of Energy to enter into a standby loan agreement with these investors to make a direct loan to the project in the event of market volatility. The loan agreements would be limited to 10 qualifying CTL projects.
“Montana has the coal, we’ve got the manpower, we’re ready to see a coal-to-liquids facility built in our state,” said Rehberg. “However, we have yet to provide enough incentives to encourage the construction of a single facility within the United States. This is an issue that needs to be addressed now. It’s time to dedicate ourselves to a secure energy future by promoting a wide variety of domestic sources.”