*EPF514 08/01/2003
Senate Passes Bill to Spur Energy Conservation, Development
(Measure must be reconciled with House version emphasizing production) (490)

By Andrzej Zwaniecki
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington -- The Senate approved July 31 energy legislation designed to stimulate domestic production of energy and push for more energy conservation in a renewed effort to set a broad national energy policy.

The chamber voted 84-14 to pass the measure after Senate Republicans agreed to abandon their version of the bill, which was entangled in procedural delays and lengthy debate, and accept legislation approved overwhelmingly in 2002 when Democrats controlled the Senate. The 2002 bill died when House and Senate negotiators failed to reconcile differences between the two versions before the 107th Congress expired.

As part of the deal allowing passage of the 2003 measure, Republicans agreed to consider later in the year legislation sponsored by Senator Joseph Lieberman, Democrat from Connecticut, and John McCain, Republican from Arizona, to reduce greenhouse gases and strengthen regulations against energy market manipulations.

Under the Senate energy bill, regulators would be required to set higher fuel efficiency standards, utilities to get more of their energy from renewable sources and companies in general to report their greenhouse gas emissions. The measure also includes a $20 billion package of tax breaks designed to boost energy production, use of renewable fuels and conservation.

White House spokesman Scott McClellan said President Bush welcomed the Senate's action, which, McClellan said, will lead to greater U.S. energy independence.

"Together, the House and Senate energy bills include the major conservation and environmentally responsible production measures needed to reduce our reliance on foreign sources of energy," McClellan said in a July 31 statement.

However, the fight over U.S. energy policy is far from over. Senate Republican Energy Committee Chairman Pete Domenici -- who will preside over negotiations to reconcile differences between the Senate bill and a House of Representatives version -- indicated he has not given up on his priorities. Domenici proposed, among other measures, major changes in electricity regulations and a multibillion-dollar support for the nuclear power industry, provisions that are not included in the Senate bill.

"We're in the majority and we'll write a completely different bill," he reportedly said.

Both chambers must approve the compromise measure before it can be signed into law by the president.

The House passed in April a bill that puts more emphasis on production-boosting incentives than the Senate bill, which is tilted more toward supporting conservation efforts. The House measure also would allow drilling for oil in the Artic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), which is supported by the White House and opposed by Democrats and environmental groups. The Senate version does not have a similar provision.

Domenici said he would not support the ANWR provision during House-Senate bargaining, according to news sources.

McClellan said the president is looking forward to working with congressional negotiators to "ensure that we enact a balanced an comprehensive energy policy this year."

(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

Return to Public File Main Page

Return to Public Table of Contents