Republican

Democratic and Republican members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee Friday said that ongoing talks related to the mark-up of emergency legislation designed to provide relief to the troubled California wholesale energy markets would carry over into next week’s Congressional recess.

The rumored exit of Sen. James M. Jeffords (R-VT) from the Republican Party would put the Democrats in majority control of the Senate for the first time since the early 1990s, handing them the chairmanship positions, including the reins over energy-related committees and subcommittees that have jurisdiction over key legislation and appointments.

The House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on energy and air quality last Thursday voted 17-13 to forward a Republican stopgap bill to aid California to the full panel. The vote on the measure, sponsored by Subcommittee Chairman Joe Barton (R-TX), was strictly along party lines.

The House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on energy and air quality yesterday voted 17-13 to forward a Republican stopgap bill to aid California to the full panel. The vote on the measure, sponsored by Subcommittee Chairman Joe Barton (R-TX), was strictly along party lines.

Despite moves by the Republican-led FERC during the past week toaddress potential refunds and possible price manipulation in theCalifornia wholesale power markets, the Bush administrationcontinued to be the favorite whipping boy of Senate Democrats forits unrelenting opposition to temporary price mitigation in thewestern region.

Despite moves by the Republican-led FERC last week to addresspotential refunds and possible price manipulation in the Californiawholesale power markets, the Bush administration continued to bethe favorite whipping boy of Senate Democrats for its unrelentingopposition to some form of price mitigation for the short term inthe western region.

Sen. Frank Murkowski (R-AK) announced Friday he is putting offintroducing the Senate Republicans’ widely anticipatedcomprehensive energy legislation until the week of Feb. 26, at theearliest.

Sen. Frank Murkowski (R-AK) announced Friday he is putting offintroducing the Senate Republicans’ widely anticipatedcomprehensive energy legislation until the week of Feb. 26, at theearliest.

In the waning day of the Clinton administration, Chairman FrankMurkowski (R-AK) and four other Republican members of the SenateEnergy and Natural Resources Committee have called on the presidentto refrain from enacting regulations that could put off limits evenmore federal lands for natural gas and oil producers. Such actionwould only aggravate the current gas price and supply crisis, theysaid.