Senate passes energy bill; conference committee could be named
Washington (Platts)--29Jun2005
The Senate voted 85-12 in favor of the Clean Energy Act of 2005 (S. 10) Tuesday morning. The bill now heads to conference with the House's Energy Policy Act of 2005 (H.R. 6). Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., said that passage of the bill reflected "the will of the Senate that America's energy supply should be as clean and renewable as possible. We still have a lot of work ahead of us. I anticipate the swift naming of conferees and immediate progress to conference. The president has asked us to have a bill on his desk before August. I intend to do everything I can to meet that deadline." Sen. Jeff Bingaman, R-N.M., agreed. "We still have many hurdles to overcome, and I hope we can work them out in conference." Other members expressed the belief that although the bill didn't contain everything they wanted, overall it was a good bill. "It isn't a perfect bill, but we used opportunities to improve it," said Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. After the vote, senators and Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman predicted success on a final energy bill. They said conferees should be named this week to begin negotiations. Domenici said there are three differences between the House and Senate bill that must be resolved: a dispute over a liability waiver for makers of the fuel additive methyl tertiary butyl ether, the tax package and a renewable portfolio standard included in the Senate bill. "We have disagreements, but they are less important than getting an energy bill done. That's urgent," Domenici said. Bodman said the administration would work to cut the cost of the bill, to put it in line with the White House's request for legislation costing no more than $6.7-bil. "The Senate demonstrated a strong bi-partisan commitment to develop the next generation of advanced clean coal technologies. ... The [research and development] funding and investment incentives provided for in the bill will hasten the deployment of technologies needed to continue progress in further reducing emissions from coal-based power that today generates over half of the nation's electricity," the National Mining Assn. said. "I applaud the Senate for working in a bipartisan way to pass comprehensive energy legislation consistent with what I proposed in 2001," President Bush said in a statement. "This bill will help our economic growth by addressing the root causes of high energy prices and reducing our dependence on foreign sources of energy. It will encourage the use of technology to improve energy conservation and efficiency, help increase domestic energy supplies, support alternative and renewable sources, and enhance reliability. I urge the House and Senate to resolve their differences quickly and get a good bill to my desk before the August recess." This story was originally published in Platts Coal Trader http://www.coaltrader.platts.com
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