US House to vote on energy

US House to vote on energy-related bills on Tuesday

Washington (Platts)--14Jun2004


After a week delay due to events marking former President Ronald Reagan's
death, US House Republicans on Tuesday intend to bring several energy bills to
the floor in an effort to spur the US Senate to pass comprehensive energy
legislation. The so-called "Energy Week" is now expected to last just one, or
perhaps, two legislative days. Between four to six energy-related bills are
expected to be brought up Tuesday and Wednesday on the "suspension calendar,"
meaning they could be brought up at any time and are not subject to amendment.
One of those bills is the energy bill conference report -- the piece of
legislation negotiated between the House and Senate to reconcile differences
in the two chambers' comprehensive energy bills. The House last year approved
that report, but the Senate never voted on it due to a filibuster over a
provision granting MTBE manufacturers protection from lawsuits.

The House is expected to reapprove the conference report, which was
reintroduced Jun 3 by House Energy Committee Chairman Joe Barton,
Republican-Texas, under new bill number HR 4503, instead of HR 6. The House
also is expected to take up a bill offered by Barton, HR 4517, designed to
reduce bottlenecks in the permitting process for reactivating idle refineries.
Another bill to be taken up is one expected to be offered Monday by Roy Blunt,
Republican-Missouri, to put a moratorium on new "boutique fuels" as part of US
Environmental Protection Agency-required State Implementation Plans and would
give preference to states opting for either reformulated gasoline or low-RVP
gasoline. It also would allow short-term EPA waivers of fuel requirements in
cases of a "significant fuel supply disruption". The House also will take up a
bill that proposes to fund the Abandoned Mine Land program with revenues from
oil-and-gas leasing in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (HR 4529) and
one to streamline renewable energy project siting (HR 4513).

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