Free Republic

WASHINGTON - After years of stalemate, Congress on Friday sent President Bush a national energy plan touted by supporters as providing a diverse mix of fuels, new jobs, cleaner burning coal and the next generation of nuclear reactors. But the bill now ready for President Bush's signature won't stem high energy prices that have been viewed as a growing political concern, both in Congress and at the White House. The Senate approved the mammoth $12.3 billion legislation 74-26, though some Democrats said they voted for the measure reluctantly because of its cost and its tepid response to reducing the country's...

The House overwhelmingly passed the energy bill yesterday with a price tag that exceeds by nearly $8 billion the president's initial wishes, but for the first time in four years it is expected to get Senate approval and become law. President Bush will get his energy bill, what he called his No. 1 priority this year, but the higher cost will not deter him from signing the measure. "This is a good bill," said White House spokesman Scott McClellan... The bill passed in the House by a 275-156 vote, with 75 Democrats joining 200 Republicans to support it. The Senate...

WASHINGTON - The House by a wide margin approved a mammoth energy plan for the nation Thursday that sends billions of dollars in tax breaks and subsidies to energy companies, but is expected to do little to reduce U.S. oil consumption or dampen high energy prices. "This is a good bill for America," declared Rep. Joe Barton (news, bio, voting record), R-Texas, a key author of the legislation. "It is for America's future."

Congressional negotiators resolved their remaining differences on Tuesday over the energy bill, paving the way for a vote on the long-awaited legislation before the end of the week. Lawmakers removed controversial provisions that helped to sink previous efforts at energy reform in the first term of President George W. Bush. The bill no longer offers legal immunity to producers of MTBE--a gasoline additive that contaminated ground water. Nor does it grant permission for drilling for oil and natural gas in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. With these stumbling blocks removed, the bill is expected to win approval from lawmakers. But...

Despite repeated calls by President Bush and members of Congress to decrease U.S. dependence on oil imports, a major energy bill that appears headed for passage this week would not significantly reduce the country's need for foreign oil, according to analysts and interest groups. The United States imports 58 percent of the oil it consumes. Federal officials project that by 2025, the country will have to import 68 percent of its oil to meet demand. At best, analysts say, the energy legislation would slightly slow that rate of growth of dependence. "We'll be dependent on the global market for more...

House and Senate negotiators are awaiting completion of an $11.5 billion tax package before giving final approval to an sweeping compromise energy bill that Congress hopes to send to President Bush by week's end. The conferees approved the non-tax measures early Tuesday in a session that lasted well past midnight, maneuvering through dozens of amendments, including one aimed at blunting China's attempt to purchase U.S. energy companies. Throughout the negotiations, conference leaders took precautions to avoid provisions that might prompt a Senate filibuster, which they feared would doom energy legislation as it did two years ago. But Sen. Pete Domenici,...

House of Representatives and Senate negotiators finished work on Tuesday on energy legislation that aims to boost traditional oil, natural gas and electricity supplies and would double production of the gasoline additive ethanol. The panel of lawmakers rejected a proposal to reduce U.S. oil consumption by 1 million barrels per day and also turned down a plan to require utilities to generate more electricity from renewable energy sources like wind and solar power. The full House and Senate will vote on the compromise bill this week. President Bush on Sunday urged leaders of the conference committee to wrap up work...

The Bush administration today unveiled revisions to the energy bill, currently moving through Congress, designed to decrease U.S. dependency on foreign petroleum. Under the terms of the amended legislation, the United States would "defeat the Arabs and take their oil." Without such an amendment, the current energy bill would only slow the increase in U.S. dependency, which is projected to exceed 68 percent of domestic consumption by the year 2025. Americans now get about 58 percent of their fossil fuels from other nations, almost all of which is burned in Sport Utility Vehicles during trips to children's soccer practices. Although...

WASHINGTON, July 25 (Reuters) - To stretch America's gasoline supplies, the leaders of a joint Senate-House conference committee racing to finish a U.S. energy bill agreed on Monday to almost double production of the motor fuel additive ethanol to 7.5 billion gallons a year by 2012. However, the full panel rejected a proposal to reduce U.S. oil consumption by 1 million barrels per day and also turned down a plan to require utilities to generate more of their electricity from renewable energy sources like wind and solar power. The ethanol compromise is larger than the 5 billion gallons approved by...

In an effort to stretch America's gasoline supplies, a draft U.S. energy bill would almost double production of the motor fuel additive ethanol to 7.5 billion gallons a year by 2012. The federal ethanol mandate is expected to be approved on Monday evening, when a joint committee of Senate and House lawmakers meets to continue finalizing terms of a broad energy bill. The compromise ethanol mandate would be larger than the 5 billion gallons initially sought by House lawmakers, but smaller than the 8 billion gallons called for by the Senate. Ethanol, derived mostly from corn, is a popular political...

WASHINGTON (AP) - House and Senate conferees abandoned giving makers of the gasoline additive MTBE liability protection against environmental lawsuits on Sunday, removing the major roadblock to enactment of broad energy legislation. Senate negotiators rejected a House proposal for an $11.4 billion MTBE cleanup fund that House Republicans had hoped would serve as a compromise and still provide the liability shield to the oil industry. But Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, said "the proposal has not been accepted by the Senate" and that he would offer another MTBE proposal on Monday. Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., leader of the Senate energy negotiating...

WASHINGTON - House and Senate conferees abandoned giving makers of the gasoline additive MTBE liability protection against environmental lawsuits on Sunday, removing the major roadblock to enactment of broad energy legislation. Senate negotiators rejected a House proposal for an $11.4 billion MTBE cleanup fund that House Republicans had hoped would serve as a compromise and still provide the liability shield to the oil industry. But Rep. Joe Barton (news, bio, voting record), R-Texas, said "the proposal has not been accepted by the Senate" and that he would offer another MTBE proposal on Monday. Sen. Pete Domenici (news, bio, voting record),...

WASHINGTON -- An agreement was reached Thursday to extend daylight-saving time in an effort to conserve energy, but not to the extent the House approved in April. House and Senate negotiators on an energy bill agreed to begin daylight-saving time three weeks earlier, on the second Sunday in March, and extend it by one week to the first Sunday in November. The House bill would have added a month in the spring and another in the fall. According to some senators, farmers complained that a two-month extension could adversely affect livestock, and airline officials said it would have complicated scheduling...

WASHINGTON - Twenty-one senators asked the Environmental Protection Agency for more information Thursday about an internal paper that reportedly concludes that the gasoline additive MTBE may cause cancer. Key elements of the document, which has not been made public, surfaced as lawmakers considered whether to shield the makers of MTBE from product liability lawsuits as a result drinking water contamination in at least 36 states. MTBE, which was put into gasoline to cut air pollution, has been banned in several states because of complaints that it adds a foul smell and turpentine-like taste to drinking water when it leaks into...

WASHINGTON - For the third time in four years, the Senate is certain to produce an energy bill embraced by Republicans and Democrats. But its chance of becoming law depends on hard bargaining with House GOP leaders more favorable to industry. After finishing most work on the Senate bill late last week, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist scheduled a final vote on the measure Tuesday. Both Republicans and Democrats predicted approval. But the Senate bill deliberately skirts some of the most contentious energy issues facing Congress. The legislation says nothing about drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska,...

By H. JOSEF HEBERT, Associated Press Writer 13 minutes ago The Senate overwhelmingly approved energy legislation embraced by both Republicans and Democrats Tuesday, but hard bargaining looms with House GOP leaders who favor measures more favorable to industry. After finishing most work on the bill late last week, the Senate approved the sweeping legislation 85-12. It includes a proposed $18 billion in energy tax breaks, an expansion of ethanol use and measures aimed at increasing natural gas imports to meet growing demand. But lawmakers acknowledged that the measure would do little, if anything, in the short run to stem the...

WASHINGTON — With Congress poised to finally turn out an energy bill, a group of former officials from both parties and the intelligence community gathered in Washington Thursday to demonstrate how the world is flirting with disaster on energy. The message in the exercise: If consumers don't like spending $2 per gallon for gasoline, they will probably like $5 per gallon even less. In a sobering reminder of the need for a long-term energy strategy, a nonpartisan group forming the National Commission on Energy Policy held a simulated National Security Council meeting to grapple with a frightening sequence of events....

The president went to Lusby, Maryland where, in a wide-ranging speech, he talked about the economy and the current state of our energy needs, addressing the need for a Congressional energy bill. Link to speech. Secretary of State Rice is in Brussels attending an 80-nation conference aimed at backing the efforts of Iraq's transitional government to stabilise and rebuild the country. Link to McClellan's press briefing. Laura is with Jenna visiting the Grand Canyon. Welcome to Sanity Island.

Senate energy bill escapes House trap With the leadership of several key Western senators, the Senate is crafting legislation that addresses both production and environmental concerns. The U.S. Senate is crafting energy legislation that's far more worthwhile than the retrograde bill that sailed through the House in April. The Senate proposal could actually help wean America from imported oil in the long term. And it doesn't sidestep such environmental concerns as global warming. ... The House measure is filled with federal giveaways to the oil and gas industries - mature businesses that don't need a taxpayer handout. Worse, the House...

WASHINGTON — The Senate on Wednesday endorsed a broad expansion of the use of ethanol in gasoline, despite claims by opponents that it would force up gasoline prices outside the Farm Belt and reduce fuel economy. A provision that requires refineries across the country to use a total of 8 billion gallons of ethanol a year -- double today's production -- beginning in 2012 was approved 70-26 and put into a wide-ranging energy bill the Senate is expected to complete in the next two weeks. An attempt by Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., to strip away the provision failed, 69-28. Schumer...