US Senate leader promises energy bill by June

20 April 2005 20:10  [Source: ICIS news]

WASHINGTON (CNI)--The chief US Senate energy leader said Wednesday that he plans to complete committee work on a comprehensive energy policy bill next month and send it to the full Senate for action as early as June.

 

Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee Chairman Pete Domenici (Republican-New Mexico) said in a statement today that he will meet President George W Bush’s call for “an energy bill that produces more energy in environmentally-sensitive ways, conserves more energy, diversifies energy supplies and modernizes energy infrastructure.”

 

Domenici said his committee “has made strong headway [this year] in crafting a bipartisan bill that meets the president’s criteria.”

 

“I agree with President Bush that Congress must swiftly pass legislation that helps us produce more, conserve more and diversify our supplies if we are to free our economy from the impact of global energy demand and world politics,” Domenici said.

 

Domenici said a “long season of spiralling prices and tight supplies has convinced Republicans and Democrats that we must produce more and conserve more.  We can no longer talk about doing just one or the other.”

 

The Senate leader on energy issues also said that the Senate - where earlier attempts to pass a comprehensive US energy policy bill have floundered - “is more bipartisan today than I’ve seen it in a long time” on energy issues.

 

Domenici said he expects the Energy Committee will report out an energy bill that “will receive strong bipartisan support on the Senate floor this summer.”

 

On the House side earlier today, representatives began debate on an $8bn (Euro6.1bn) energy bill that seeks to boost long-term domestic supplies of oil and natural gas.

 

In three previous years, the House has passed a comprehensive energy bill, only to see the measure die in the Senate.

By: Joe Kamalick
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