The House Democratic leadership says it will introduce Friday its much-touted energy bill that is expected to focus on renewable and alternative energy, rather than traditional oil and natural gas.

The energy measure, which is scheduled for a House vote on Jan. 18, is one of the key legislative items in the “100 hours” agenda that the Democrats are promoting. Drew Hammill, a spokesman for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), said he expects the energy bill to win the support of both Democrats and Republicans.

“There’s strong bipartisan support on these ‘100 hour’ items,” he told NGI. Hammill said no Republican amendments — except for a motion to recommit to committee — will be allowed during the consideration of the bill on the House floor.

No details of the bill will be released until Friday, he said. However, the measure is expected to repeal billions of dollars in producer tax breaks that were included in the Energy Policy Act of 2005, and recoup billions in royalties that were lost as a result of the faulty deepwater leases that were issued by the Interior Department in 1998 and 1999 (see Daily GPI, Jan. 4). The recovered dollars will likely then be used to fund renewable and alternative energy projects.

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