Washington (Platts)--15Sep2009/200 pm EDT/1800 GMT

Public opposition to the US House of Representatives' climate bill "is having a clear impact on elected officials," and if the legislation was on the House floor today, "I believe it wouldn't pass," American Petroleum Institute President Jack Gerard said Tuesday.

Gerard, speaking during a conference call briefing, said he based his comments on impressions formed during a series of public rallies on the climate bill and energy legislation held across the country last month that were sponsored by API and other industry associations and business groups.

"I was amazed and surprised by the enthusiastic interest on the part of the American public," he said. "It exceeded our wildest expectations in terms of turnout and interest, particularly in the area of climate."

Gerard reiterated that the API opposes the House Waxman-Markey climate bill, calling it "anti-job, anti-consumer and anti-American energy." He called on the Senate, which is poised to take up climate legislation, to "get it right and avoid the serious outcomes of Waxman-Markey."

The House passed the sweeping energy and climate change bill -- called The American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 -- in late June by a 219 to 212 vote, just one above the 218 votes needed for passage. Eight Republican members voted for the bill and 44 Democrats voted against it.

"This is not a partisan issue," Gerard said. "A lot of conservative Democrats have reservations about what the House did. A number of areas have to be looked at," particularly the impact on jobs and fuel prices, he said. Gerard also expressed concern that legislation recently introduced in the House by Representative Nick Rahall, Democrat-West Virginia, would add significant "bureaucratic" layers to the permitting process and would slow and delay projects. "

There is enough of that in the system," he said. "If anything, we should be looking at ways to streamline the process."

According to API, because of the delays, natural gas production would decrease 18% over the next 30 years from expected levels.

The Rahall bill combines the functions of the Bureau of Land Management, which oversees onshore development, and the Minerals Management Service, which has jurisdiction over offshore development. The bill also eliminates the royalty-in-kind program.

Gerard said he believes the RIK program is sound public policy, but is "just badly managed" by the MMS. A significant shortcoming of the legislation is its failure to address energy supply and production, he said.

Gerard criticized the administration's proposal to eliminate a variety of energy industry tax breaks. "The oil and gas industry is responsible for 9.2 million jobs," he said. "To arbitrarily focus on an industry like that and penalize it through the tax code is illogical." --Gerald Karey, gerry_karey@platts.com