Washington (Platts)--28Dec2007

President Bush is set to veto a defense authorization bill Friday that
would assign $9.5 billion in fiscal 2008 funding for nuclear-related programs
to the US Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration,
$150 million more than the administration requested, the White House said.

The measure, H.R. 1585, would also require the Department of Defense to
derive 25% of the power it uses from renewable sources by fiscal 2025 -- under
current law, this is a goal rather than a requirement.

The US military uses huge amounts of electricity at thousands of
facilities around the world. The bill would allow the defense secretary to
waive the 25% requirement if he believes that it is in the "best interests" of
DOD to do so. The Pentagon would have to notify the House and Senate Armed
Services committees before waiving the requirement.

The president objects to the bill, which would fund the military
operations of the Department of Defense, because he says it would expose the
current Iraqi government to lawsuits brought by victims of former dictator
Saddam Hussein.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid released
a joint statement on Friday reprimanding the administration for not raising
its objections while the bill was in conference, and warned "The American
people will have every right to be disappointed if the President vetoes this
legislation."

The White House called on Congress to resume work on the legislation when
it returns to Washington in January.

--Jean Chemnick, jean_chemnick@platts.com