Starting off on the wrong foot, Republican and Democratic congressional conferees directed to come up with a comprehensive energy bill came to the end of their first week of conferring deeply divided over how to proceed in the second and third weeks.
Democrats
Articles from Democrats
House Energy Panel Resumes CA Energy Bill Markup
Fresh from their recent recess, House Democrats and Republicans who sit on the House Energy and Commerce Committee this morning will take another crack at marking up legislation designed to provide relief to the troubled California wholesale energy markets. A Capitol Hill aide expressed confidence that the bill will be voted on today by the full committee.
Industry Briefs
The National Energy Marketers Association (NEM), responding to the Bush administration’s energy plan and the Democrats’ response, issued on Tuesday an urgent call for bipartisan support for meaningful incentives for massive new investments in additional energy supplies, conservation, infrastructure and technology. “Both plans recognize that new investments are required immediately, but both plans lack sufficient incentives to permit energy prices to come down,” said NEM President Craig Goodman. “Accelerated cost recoveries for new investments in energy supply, conservation, advanced energy technology and environmental protection will solve the energy supply problem quickly and is one of the lowest cost, highest yield policy solutions. New energy supplies, conservation and advanced technology will lower costs to all consumers and should be considered a moral imperative. NEM has long advocated the expansion of existing Internal Revenue Code Sections to include ‘Qualified Energy Restructuring Investments’ for new supplies, conservation, infrastructure, advanced metering and distributed generation technologies.”
Senate Democrats to Respond with Own Energy Bill
In a rebuff to the Senate Republicans’ omnibus energy bill, theranking Democrat on the Senate Energy and Natural ResourcesCommittee plans to introduce his own comprehensive energylegislation this week, according to a spokeswoman.
Senate Democrats Respond with Own Energy Bill
In a rebuff to the Senate Republicans’ energy package, theranking Democrat on the Senate Energy and Natural ResourcesCommittee plans to introduce his own comprehensive energylegislation either later this week or early next week, according toa spokeswoman.
Senate Calls for Hearing into High Gas Prices
There appears to be one issue that Republicans and Democrats onCapitol Hill can agree on — gas prices are too high. ChairmanFrank H. Murkowski (R-AK) of the Senate Energy Committee andRanking Minority Member Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) have called for anoversight hearing to look into rising natural gas prices.
House Hammers Pipe Safety, Labels Bill as Too ‘Soft’
Wait until next year. That was the message from U.S. House Democrats who derailed Senate-passed pipeline safety legislation (S. 2438) in the closing days of the 106th Congress. Opponents of the measure labeled it “soft” on safety.
House Hammers Pipe Safety, Labels Bill Too ‘Soft’
Wait until next year. That was the message from U.S. HouseDemocrats who derailed Senate-passed pipeline safety legislation(S. 2438) in the closing days of the 106th Congress. Opponents ofthe measure labeled it “soft” on safety.
Clinton SPR Action Puts Energy at Center Stage
The Democrats barely mentioned the word “energy” in theirplatform at the August convention, but President Clinton put thespotlight on energy issues last week in Washington with hisdecision to release 30 million barrels of crude oil from theStrategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), as well as a record $400 millionof funding for energy assistance to low-income households for thiswinter.
Clinton Tackles Winter Heating Oil Prices
The Democrats hardly mentioned the word “energy” in theirplatform at the August convention, but President Clinton last weektried to make up for that omission by ordering the release of 30million barrels of crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve(SPR), as well as a record $400 million of funding for energyassistance to low-income households for this winter.