Earth Day Is a Good PR Day for Politicians: Energy Bill Passes House
The U.S. House of Representatives hurried to approve an energy bill this week, just in time to make Earth Day news coverage. It passed a bill that would open ANWR to oil drilling and continue billions in benefits to energy industries. But could this bill reduce the nation's hunger for electricity and thirst for oil?
April 22, 2005
It's not the first time the House has passed a comprehensive energy bill, and it might not be the last. Yesterday, on the eve of Earth Day 2005, the long-debated Energy Policy Act made it out of the House on a 249-183 margin.
Prices at the gas pump motivate the general public's attention to the energy bill. But even the bill's Republican supporters admit it does little to change that. It does meet many of President Bush's energy priorities.
In the Senate, meanwhile, a committee is working on their own version. The real test is whether both chambers of Congress will agree on a far-reaching energy policy. That is not likely to happen before summer.
Like previous bills that made it out of the House in the past four years, this version emphasizes domestic oil production and does much less to encourage energy conservation or support alternative energy research and development.
The bill includes the same controversial measures that have killed earlier versions, such as indemnifying the makers of a dangerous fuel additive. MTBE, which met EPA requirements for renewable fuels, turned out to be a hazardous groundwater contaminant. The bill also opens the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska to oil drilling, a measure that might not survive in the energy policy, but is likely to be tacked onto separate legislation later this session.
Along with the familiar controversies and time-honored subsidies are some new laws. Extending daylight-saving time by two months drew little criticism. The law is administered by the Transportation Department, but most of the nominal energy savings come from using less electricity to light workplaces and homes.
Giving a federal agency the power to preempt state and local opposition is sure to stir some debate. The bill grants the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission the authority to decide on the locations of liquefied natural gas import terminals. LNG is used increasingly to fuel electric generating stations. Utilities shifted to LNG from coal for new plants in the pre-war years, before natural gas prices escalated.
The Senate energy bill is anticipated no sooner than May.