Senate passes energy legislation

Senate passes energy legislation

Lolita C. Baldor, Register Washington Bureau	April 26, 2002

WASHINGTON — After more than six weeks of debate, sweeping energy legislation passed the U.S. Senate Thursday, but it is headed for a long and rancorous battle as lawmakers try to reconcile major differences between the House and Senate bills.

The vote was 88-11.

The Senate version, which Sens. Christopher J. Dodd and Joseph I. Lieberman, both D-Conn., supported, includes a 10-year, $14 billion program of tax and business incentives for conservation and alternative energy sources. But it does not contain provisions for oil drilling in the Arctic Refuge, which are in the House bill and were a key plank in the Bush energy plan.

The House bill includes $33 billion in tax breaks, which are targeted more to the oil and gas industry.

"This isn't a perfect measure, but it does at least make strides toward making our nation more energy independent," said Dodd. "It also puts a giant stop sign in front of those — including President Bush — who would have us ruin some of the most pristine and treasured land in America for a limited amount of oil."

One of the more divisive issues in the Senate debate involved unsuccessful attempts to increase fuel efficiency in motor vehicles.

Lieberman backed an amendment Thursday to limit gasoline consumption to 9.6 million barrels per day by 2015, which is 1 million less than the 10.6 million barrels a day that industry experts predict vehicles will use by then.

"This amendment ... provides the lead time and flexibility our industry needs to achieve these goals," Lieberman said during the debate. "It does not micromanage where or how these savings should occur, but rather would provide maximum flexibility to the appropriate agencies in achieving the objective of using, and therefore importing, less oil."

Opponents, however, argued that such limits would restrict consumer choices, force automobile plants to close and jeopardize jobs.

That amendment failed, as did an earlier effort to increase fuel efficiency standards to 35 mpg, a 50 percent hike.

Both House and Senate bills, however, include tax credits for the development of fuel cell technologies that could boost research at Connecticut-based UTC Fuel Cells.

"Today's Senate action represents a significant step forward on the pathway to fuel cell commercialization," said Judith Bayer, director of environmental government affairs for UTC Fuel Cells parent company, United Technology Corp. "By approving incentives for the deployment of stationary and mobile fuel cells, Congress has reaffirmed its support for this exciting technology."

The bill includes a five-year, $1,000 per kilowatt tax credit for businesses and homeowners who purchase fuel cells, along with tax credits for fuel cell vehicles that range from $4,000 to $40,000 depending on the weight and class of vehicle.

It also requires that the DOE develop a strategic plan for deployment of 200,000 fuel cell vehicles by 2010 and 2.5 million such vehicles by 2020.

And, while the Senate dumped the Bush plan to drill for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve, the bill provides billions of dollars in loan guarantees to help the construction of a natural gas pipeline from Alaska.

In other areas, the bill triples the amount of corn-based ethanol in fuel, giving a boost to farmers.

And it calls for increases in the amount of electricity generated by solar and wind technologies.