[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 47 (Tuesday, March 25, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Page S1732]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS

      By Ms. HEITKAMP:
  S. 2152. A bill to direct Federal investment in carbon capture and 
storage and other clean coal technologies, and for other purposes; to 
the Committee on Finance.
  Ms. HEITKAMP. Mr. President, today I am introducing the Advanced 
Clean Coal Technology for Our Nation (ACCTION) Act. This bill seeks to 
remedy one of the main impediments to the development of advanced clean 
coal technologies, in particular carbon capture and sequestration, CCS, 
by laying out concrete funding mechanisms to encourage investment, 
innovation, and collaboration between the Federal Government and 
companies looking to build the next generation of coal-fired power 
plants in this country. The Federal Government continues to put in 
place regulations that seek to further reduce emissions from our 
nation's coal-fired power plants, yet they provide little to no 
incentive for utilities and other coal stakeholders to invest in and 
develop advanced clean coal technologies.
  The Federal Government invests heavily in our renewable resources and 
provides an environment for oil and gas producers, efforts that I 
wholeheartedly support. However, if we are to truly invest in an all-
of-the-above energy policy that will provide the most robust and 
diverse portfolio of energy sources then we must find a path forward 
for coal-fired power. The ACCTION Act will put coal back on a level 
playing field with our other resources by incentivizing technologies 
that reduce the carbon footprint of coal-fired power through Federal 
funding programs, offering Federal support for private investment, and 
putting forth recommendations on how best to support future CCS 
projects in the United States.
  The ACCTION Act will increase Federal investment in clean coal 
technology by: developing large-scale carbon storage programs to 
support the commercial-scale application of enhanced oil recovery and 
geologic storage of carbon dioxide; increasing access to and 
streamlining existing Federal funding programs for coal projects and; 
revamping existing research and development programs for advanced coal, 
and carbon capture and sequestration technologies by including 
transformational coal-related technologies; increasing to 30 percent 
the current tax credit for carbon sequestration from coal facilities; 
establishing a variable price support for companies that capture 
CO2 for use in enhanced oil recovery operations; creating 
clean energy coal bonds to provide tax credits for coal-powered 
facilities that sequester CO2 or meet efficiency targets; 
and requiring reports and recommendations to Congress on existing 
carbon capture projects and how those projects can be duplicated with a 
combination of public and private financing.
  The ACCTION Act takes into account two very important realities and 
attempts to address the seemingly divergent points by looking for a 
solution. First, the climate is changing, and we need to recognize we 
will be functioning in a carbon constrained world moving forward. We 
will have to continue to innovate and look for new ways to reduce 
emissions while at the same time meeting our energy needs. Second, coal 
is not going anywhere. The Energy Information Administration has stated 
that coal will still be providing a third of our electricity decades 
into the future. If we continue to support and invest in advanced 
technologies, coal will remain in the energy mix for decades beyond 
that.
  Finding a path forward for coal is critical for our Nation and my 
State. North Dakota is one of the top ten states for percentage of our 
electricity generated from coal, with coal-fired power providing almost 
80 percent of the State's electricity needs. At the same time, our 
state maintains some of the lowest rates per kilowatt-hour in the 
Nation. North Dakota is also one of the top 10 coal producing States in 
the Nation. It is estimated that over 4,000 North Dakotans were 
directly employed as a result of lignite-related coal activities in 
2012, and as many as 13,000 other jobs in the state were supported 
indirectly by the lignite coal industry.
  Coal use continues to increase around the world, and if the United 
States wants to truly be a leader on emissions reduction and advanced 
energy technologies, then we must be fully committed in investing the 
necessary funding and resources to develop and implement clean coal 
technologies here and abroad. These efforts will come with significant 
costs, and will not happen overnight, but we must take the necessary 
steps now to further reduce emissions while providing a path-forward 
for coal-fired power.
  Coal-fired power remains the most reliable, redundant, affordable 
source of electricity for major portions of this country. Coal remains 
an abundant resource in this country. The ACCTION Act lays out a path-
forward for coal-fired power and advanced clean coal technologies, and 
I hope my colleagues will join me in this effort.

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