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Oilheat Research Alliance (NORA), whose
Congressional charter expired in 2010,
is continuing again in 2013. NORA President
John Huber recently fielded questions from
Oil & Energy
about the reauthorization
campaign.
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We will take a similar approach
to what we did last year. We have a well-
designed and strong bill. We will try to get
matching bills in the House and Senate and
then we will encourage members of the
Oilheating community, service personnel,
manufacturers, and retailers to talk with
their Representatives. Members who are
briefed and get a full explanation understand
the importance, and also understand that
this is a good role for an industry to take
care of itself and improve the product for its
customers. Our goal will be to have a strong
bipartisan mix in both the House and Senate.
As the Congress develops, we will try to
move the bill by having a hearing where we
can speak to the advantages of the bill, and
the improvements that have been made.
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I think the biggest problem is that the
Congress has not been passing legislation.
The last Congress passed fewer laws than
any Congress in the modern era (post World
War II). Historically, the last Congress was
probably as divided as any Congress since the
Civil War. As a result, finding opportunities
to enact legislation is very difficult. NORA is
too small a bill to be considered on its own
and needs to be packaged with other legisla-
tion. However, there were very few bills that
NORA could potentially attach to.
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It will be very similar. We have a great
grassroots network, and that is what we
need to rely on to move forward. We will
be a little more aggressive in working to
get Republican support this time. As you
know, there are no Republicans in the New
England House delegation, which makes it
difficult for us to have balanced support.
However, to counter this, we will need
to work much harder in the South and
Midwest to get members on board.
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Charlie was a great ally to the industry,
and we will certainly miss his support.
He was from a core part of our region, and
understood the program and our bill. We are
currentlyworking to find his replacement and
have a number of members who could fit the
bill. However, they are working to ensure the
legislation we have is satisfactory to them and
meets the needs of the Committee chairman.
We hope that this process is resolved in a
couple of weeks. Unfortunately, the Congress
moves very slowly in a number of areas.
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I would like to have 20 Senators and 75
House members, with a good split between
Republicans and Democrats, and also geo-
graphic diversity.
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Yes, last Congress was all about posi-
tioning in the Presidential race. Democrats
wanted to give Obama victories, and
Republicans wanted to deny those victories.
Obama is in his last term, and it is no longer
about him. Thus, members must now look
to their own record for the races they will
run in 2014. Further, NORA is not the only
program languishing. There are hundreds of
initiatives and improvements to federal law
that industries want taken care of. So, the
pent up demandwill develop its own pressure
as the Congress moves through the year.
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The political climate is still very partisan.
Thus, bills that benefit one party or another
have little chance of enactment. That is why
it is very important to be non-partisan and
try to move through the process without
becoming a Democratic or Republican bill.
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The essence of NORA will remain the
same. The biggest change in the draft bill is
that we will dedicate more funds to research
and development. This will be a response to
both the Congress and the industry, who
understand that for us to win our battle for
customers we must continue to improve
our product.
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The draft legislation allows the Board
to change the fee over time. It is currently
$.002, and the draft bills would allow a
supermajority of the Board to move that
fee up after a couple of years, to $.003, and
over a couple more years, it could conceiv-
ably move up another $.002.
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We are seeking a seven-year extension.
The Chairman of the House Energy and
Commerce Committee has indicated that is
the maximum authorization he will provide.
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The key factors will be how hard our
industry works to get this done. We will
be counting on their support with full con-
fidence that they will deliver as they have
done in the past.
