House begins debate on energy bill
WASHINGTON, Apr 20, 2005 -- AFX-Asia
The House of Representatives kicked off debate on a Republican-crafted energy bill on Wednesday, a top priority of the Bush administration as soaring oil and gas prices have pinched consumer pocketbooks over the past four years.
President Bush delivered a speech Wednesday before the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in which he drew attention to the need for comprehensive energy legislation.
In his speech, however, the president acknowledged that there is little the U.S. acting alone can do to reduce energy costs or prevent price spikes.
"Because our foreign energy dependence is growing, our ability to take actions at home that will lower prices for American families is diminishing," the president said.
The administration has been pushing Congress to pass energy legislation since May 2001 when Vice President Richard Cheney's energy task force issued a report calling for an update of U.S. energy policy.
"This is not a problem that we got into overnight. It's not something we'll get out of overnight. That's all the more reason why we need to move forward and act now," said White House Spokesman Scott McClellan.
The president wants Congress to get him an energy bill before the summer recess in August, McClellan said. The Senate anticipates releasing a draft of energy legislation in the coming weeks.
Democrats criticized the bill as a give away to oil and gas interest groups and said it would no nothing to help consumers facing ballooning energy costs.
Production focus
The Energy Policy Act of 2005, H.R. 6, was passed out of the House Energy and Commerce Committee last week in a 39-16 vote and is expected to find sufficient support on the floor.
The legislation contains roughly $8 billion in tax incentives for energy companies to encourage the development of domestic energy supplies on federal lands and would permit exploration in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge is 19 million acres of federally held land on Alaska's North Slope.
The bill would also encourage the construction of a new generation of nuclear power plants, authorize funding for clean coal technologies, create mandatory reliability standards for the nation's transmission grid operators, speed up permit approval for the construction of new refineries, and mandate the use of 5 billion gallons of the corn-based fuel additive ethanol annually.
In an attempt to reduce U.S. oil consumption by 10,000 barrels a day, the bill would extend daylight savings time by two months. The U.S. is forecast to use 20.9 million barrels of oil a day in 2005, according to the Energy Department.
Democrats criticize bill
Democratic leaders called on House members to oppose the bill, maintaining that it would do nothing to reduce U.S. dependence on foreign energy sources.
"This isn't about a bill for the future...so we are urging a no on this legislation," said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.
"The bill...is anti-consumer, anti-taxpayer, and anti-environment," said Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., the ranking Democrat on the Energy and Commerce Committee.
"The bill will not....do anything to reduce [energy] costs," Dingell added.
Republicans responded that the bill will promote economic growth and said they anticipate the bill passing with bipartisan support.
This story was supplied by MarketWatch. For further information see www.marketwatch.com .
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