Breaking a four-year logjam, the House on Thursday approved by a wide margin sweeping energy legislation that overhauls the U.S. energy policy for the first time in more than a decade.

By 275 to 156, the Republican-led House approved a bipartisan conference report (HR 6) designed to spur greater production of oil, natural gas, electricity and renewable fuels, as well as the construction of new liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminals, pipelines and gas storage facilities. It also repeals the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935. Two hundred House Republicans and 75 Democrats voted for the bill. The Senate is poised to vote on the measure Friday.

President Bush is expected to sign the energy legislation even though it won’t provide everything the administration wants, such as drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) and reduced tax incentives for oil and natural gas companies.

“This is a great day,” said Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX), the chief negotiator on the conference report, as the House began its final lap on the energy bill Thursday. This is the “best bill that’s ever been before the Congress.”

But House Democrats decried the 1,700-plus page bill, which includes $14.5 billion in tax incentives, as “chock full of giveaways” and special-interest favors for big oil and gas, putting the interests of energy companies ahead of those of consumers, a “missed opportunity” for ensuring the energy security of the nation, and a “dog of a piece of legislation.”

Rep. Edward Markey (D-MA) led the charge against the legislation, saying it was packed with royalty relief, tax breaks, and loan guarantees as oil and gas companies were reporting their largest quarterly profits ever. He contends the energy tax breaks and royalty relief would be financed on the back of the Social Security trust fund. Congress “[is] erecting a huge oil rig” on top of that fund.

In response to the House critics, Barton noted that the majority of Republicans and Democrats on the House-Senate conference committee signed the final conference report, signaling their approval.

While the measure does not include exploration and production on the coastal plain of ANWR and does not “go far enough” to increase domestic production, it is a “great start,” said Rep. Richard Pombo (R-CA), chairman of the House Resources Committee.

Rep. John Dingell of Michigan, one of the chief negotiators on the conference panel, agreed that although the bill was not perfect, it was a “solid and good beginning.” He urged Democrats to vote for the measure.

Also expressing support for the bill was Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI), who noted he personally liked the provision that would permanently ban oil and natural gas drilling on the U.S. side of the Great Lakes. But he said he would have preferred fewer tax breaks for corporations.

Rep. Bobby Rush (D-IL), who voted for the bill, said it would increase authorized funding for Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program to $5.1 billion.

Rep. Jim McGovern (DMA) criticized the measure for extending the reach of the federal government into what he said should be state and local decisions on the construction of new LNG terminals. To the chagrin of the states, the legislation gives the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission “exclusive” jurisdiction over the siting of onshore LNG terminals.

“I think we could have done much, much better,” he said, in urging House lawmakers to defeat the bill.

Rep. Lois Capps (D-CA) rapped the energy bill primarily because it authorizes the federal government to conduct an inventory of oil and natural gas resources on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), which she said was an “attempt to begin dismantling” the congressional moratorium on drilling on much of the federal offshore. “We shouldn’t start down that road to drilling off the coast,” echoed Rep. Henry Waxman (R-CA).

A number of House lawmakers representing coastal states, such as Reps. Cliff Stearns and Michael Bilirakis of Florida, sought assurances from Pombo that an inventory would not upset the existing moratorium. Pombo told the lawmakers he would work with the coastal states that could be affected.

Rep. Gene Green (D-TX) said many House lawmakers opposed the bill because they claimed it wouldn’t do much to hike domestic energy output. But ironically, he noted that these are the same lawmakers who are against oil and natural gas drilling in the United States.

Key natural gas provisions in the sweeping energy bill:

The entire House-Senate conference report on the energy bill is available at https://energycommerce.house.gov.

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