Senate Seeks to Wrap Up Energy Bill

Apr 19 - Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Senate is moving to wrap up an energy bill, but without two proposals that sparked the greatest political fireworks and may have had the most impact.

Drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, which environmentalists made a symbol of their opposition to the Bush administration's policies, and slapping automakers with tough new fuel economy requirements were found to be politically too hot to accept.

In a showdown Thursday over the future of the refuge, drilling supporters could muster only 46 of the 60 votes needed to end a Democratic filibuster and allow a vote on putting the refuge provision into a broader energy bill.

The House already had approved drilling as part of its energy package and President Bush had made it a centerpiece of his energy agenda. He was noncommittal when reporters asked him Friday if he would sign an energy bill without the ANWR drilling plan. ``We'll see what happens,'' the president said.

``The Senate missed an opportunity to lead America to greater energy independence,'' White House spokesman Ari Fleischer declared, echoing Alaska's two senators who described the refuge as a way to reduce U.S. reliance on dictators such as Iraq's Saddam Hussein for its energy.

Still, eight Republicans abandoned Bush and joined with most Democrats in rejecting drilling in ANWR, as the refuge is called. ``There are other, more feasible options for ... reducing national foreign oil dependence,'' said Sen. Lincoln Chafee, R-R.I.

``Development would irreversibly damage this natural resource,'' argued Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., referring to the refuge's coastal plain where thousands of caribou visit and give birth to their young each summer, joined by millions of migratory birds, musk-oxen, polar bears and other wildlife.

While drilling advocates argue the oil could be developed while still protecting the wildlife, Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., maintained that the oil - estimated as likely between 5.7 billion and 11.6 billion barrels - still wasn't enough to make a serious dent in imports when it would start flowing south in eight to 10 years.

What would help, Kerry argued, would be a significant increase in the fuel efficiency of automobiles and sport utility vehicles, which guzzle 70 percent of the 19 million barrels of oil consumed each day in the United States.

But like the Arctic drilling, the auto fuel economy became a lightning rod in the energy debate. When Kerry pushed to boost federal fuel economy requirements by 50 percent, the auto industry and autoworkers said jobs would be lost and suburban soccer moms would no longer be able to buy SUVs. The proposal was killed last month on a 63-38 vote.

Many of the same senators who opposed the fuel economy increase raised alarms during the Arctic refuge debate over U.S. reliance on oil imports, said Kerry. ``They had no interest in national security when we put before the Senate a plan that would have saved America 1 million barrels a day in 2015 and 2 million barrels a day by 2020.''

The Senate likely will finish its energy legislation, covering more than 580 pages, sometime next week. Both Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., and Republican leader Trent Lott of Mississippi want a bill, as does the White House.

While lacking either oil drilling in ANWR or significant auto fuel economy measures, the bill includes myriad items that are attractive to politically powerful energy industries.

Among them:

-A compromise on renewable fuels that would triple the use of ethanol, a boon to farmers.

-A phaseout of the water-fouling gas additive MTBE, welcomed by a number of states, including much of the Northeast.

-Elimination of an oxygen requirement for gasoline and a reduction in ``boutique'' gasoline blends, making it easier for refiners to meet air quality regulations.

-Government help for the nuclear industry to develop its next generation of power plants and continued limits on reactor accident liability.

-Loan guarantees to build an Alaska natural gas pipeline, a $20 billion project aimed at providing access to large gas reserves on the North Slope.

-Tax and other incentives for purchase of hybrid gas-electric vehicles, build more fuel efficient buildings and sell more efficient appliances.

Among the issues not yet resolved, and likely to come up early next week, are details of proposed tax breaks, totaling nearly $16 billion, for energy conservation, renewable fuels an energy development. ---

EDITOR'S NOTE - H. Josef Hebert has covered energy and environmental issues for The Associated Press since 1991.