US energy plan swayed by election year price fears: House leader

Washington (Platts)--6Jun2006

US House Majority Leader John Boehner said Tuesday that the prospect of
high gasoline prices later this year is driving a House energy agenda that may
not lead to legislation being signed into law, but could gain favor in the
polls this November.

Boehner's acknowledgement came on a day when partisan bickering over
energy was ratcheted up in both chambers.

The House has passed legislation that would address price gouging, will
vote on a bill Wednesday intended to coax the industry to build new
refineries, and is considering bills that would revamp automobile fuel economy
and limit boutique fuels. The chamber also is planning an "energy week" at the
end of this month.

But House legislative efforts have been met with a cold shoulder in the
Senate, which is working on other matters this week.

"We'd like to get some of these bills to the president," Boehner told
reporters. But "we do work in a political environment and if gas prices are
high in November, I think all incumbents will suffer."

The Ohio Republican said that by voting against Republican-sponsored
energy legislation, "Democrats are single-handedly putting the squeeze on the
American energy market."

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, Democrat-Nevada, Tuesday wrote a
letter to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, a Tennessee Republican,
criticizing his plan to take up other legislation this week instead of
addressing the war in Iraq, national security and energy prices.

The Senate has "an opportunity" to show it is "capable of...dealing with
vital problems that truly matter to [Americans]," Reid wrote, adding, "I urge
you to put aside your political agenda in favor of legislation that addresses
the critical issues of national and homeland security and energy
independence."

Senator Craig Thomas, Republican-Wyoming, who has introduced a broad
energy bill, said he did not know when the Senate would address energy
legislation. "I haven't heard anything more about it," said Thomas.

--Daniel Whitten, daniel_whitten@platts.com

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