Retiring Rep. Bill Archer (R-TX) was coy yesterday when asked torespond to reports that he is being considered for Energy Secretaryshould Texas Gov. George W. Bush ultimately be declared the nextpresident.

“I do not expect to be asked to be a secretary in a Bushadministration. [But] I’m honored that my name has been floated,”Archer, who is retiring from Congress after 30 years, said at theNatural Gas Roundtable in Washington, D.C. Monday.

When asked if this meant he would flat out refuse the Departmentof Energy (DOE) post if offered it by Bush, he told Daily GPI, “I’mnot going to try to speculate on anything. I’m not campaigning fora cabinet position in [the Bush] administration.”

This scenario, of course, hinges on Bush winning the 25electoral votes in Florida, which still are very much up for grabs.Even if Bush should win the Sunshine State, some have speculated hemight pick Democrats for a few cabinet posts, such as DOEsecretary, in an attempt to heal the deep partisan wounds in thenation. That might place Archer, a Republican, low on the list ofpotential candidates for DOE secretary.

As chairman of the powerful House Way and Means Committee forthe past six years, the long-time Congressman is well thought of bythe oil and natural gas industries.

He believes the energy industry will fare much better under Bushas opposed to under Vice President Al Gore. He expects there willbe “some significant push” by a Bush White House to recognize anddeal with the problems facing energy.

In fact, “the way that we decide a realistic energy policy, Ithink, will be a major topic in the next Congress,” Archer said.Although much of Congress will be divided along partisan lines inthe next session, he believes lawmakers will be able to come toagreement on energy issues if they have “proper direction” from theWhite House.

“We have a lot to do to bolster our domestic production,” Archersaid, and “yes, we should do what we can to conserve” energy. Hesaid he thinks Bush “will do a good balancing” of the two, but hedoubts Gore would be able to do the same.

He pointed to Bush’s pledge to open the Arctic National WildlifeRefuge (ANWR) to greater oil and natural gas development. “There’sno reason why ANWR cannot be developed in a way that it does notinterfere with the environment.It’s the biggest thing that we cando to reduce dependency on foreign [energy].”

For Gore to call ANWR a “precious landscape treasure,” Archersaid, simply shows that he’s never traveled to the region. Anyonewho’s ever been there knows “it’s the most godforsaken land” in theentire United States, he noted.

On wider issues that emerged from last week’s elections, Archercalled “misguided” the ground swell of support for eliminating theelectoral college. “To me, there’s no other alternative that makesany sense,” he told energy executives. “You are inevitably going toenhance the viability of splintered parties if you go [solely] to apopular vote. This country will be more divided in a way that wehave never, never seen.” He believes the next Congress “is going tobe tied up on this issue in a significant way.”

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