Congress likely to approve energy legislation by fall
This paper reports that Congress is likely to pass broad energy legislation this fall that paradoxically seeks to reduce US dependence on oil imports without increasing domestic oil production. The House of Representatives approved 381-37 and the Senate 94-4 their separate but similar energy bills, so it appears Congress will approve a compromise bill by an overwhelming margin. A presidential veto is not threatened. A single massive bill is a different approach for congressional energy committees, the first such attempt in at least a dozen years. Energy Sec. James Watkins launched the national energy strategy (NES) effort 3 years ago. After taking office, he found many energy policy statements on Department of Energy shelves but no real plans. Watkins then began developing a proposed NES complete with timetables and specific goals. Oil producers complain that, other than a tax provision for independents in the House bill, the two bills do nothing to promote US oil exploration or production. The bills restrict offshore exploration, do not aid onshore drilling on federal lands, and do not allow exploration of the nation's best oil prospect, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Coastal Plain east of Alaska's Prudhoe Bay field. The oil industry successfully fought provisions in the bills to require it, rather than the government, to pay for filling the Strategic petroleum Reserve.
- OSTI ID:
- 5123765
- Journal Information:
- Oil and Gas Journal; (United States), Vol. 90:24; ISSN 0030-1388
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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