ENERGY CONFERENCE CHAIR DOMENICI ANNOUNCES POSTPONEMENT OF ENERGY CONFERENCE MEETING
October 24, 2003
12:00 AM
Washington, D.C. – Senate Energy & Natural Resources Chairman Pete V. Domenici today announced the postponement of the energy conference meeting scheduled for Tuesday morning. Domenici, who is the chairman of the energy conference, released the following statement:
“I am deeply disappointed to announce that we must again delay the conference on the energy bill that was scheduled for this coming Tuesday. There are a number of issues that must be resolved in order to proceed:
· Senator Grassley and Mr. Thomas seem to be at an impasse over how to reform the excise tax on ethanol, whether or not tax credits to encourage alternative energy production should be tradeable, and whether tax laws should encourage the construction of new, cleaner coal plants and environmental upgrades to existing plants.
· The House continues to insist that we must provide MTBE producers with faulty product liability protection while continuing to oppose a reasonable phase-down.
· The House is still insisting on a number of proposals to amend the Clean Air Act. “I certainly understand the House’s position on these matters. But I am a pragmatist. I have no intention of emerging from conference with a bill that cannot pass the Senate. I remain committed to developing a final conference report that will be supported by majorities of both Democrats and Republicans in the Senate. “I do believe the nation needs an energy bill. We need to establish predictable rules and mandatory reliability standards for electricity transmission, encourage diverse energy technologies, develop domestic sources of transportation fuels and research new technologies such as hydrogen. “For these reasons, I know we will eventually resolve these issues and get an energy bill. I would like that to be sooner rather than later, but it may be that more pressure needs to build to force compromise. That will happen as many of the tax incentives expire, and FERC continues to operate without clear, new statutory guidance. “I have just been elected to a six-year term. I plan to spend those six years as chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. I know we will get an energy bill. I will be patient, but how long should the country wait?” ###
· The House continues to insist that we must provide MTBE producers with faulty product liability protection while continuing to oppose a reasonable phase-down.
· The House is still insisting on a number of proposals to amend the Clean Air Act. “I certainly understand the House’s position on these matters. But I am a pragmatist. I have no intention of emerging from conference with a bill that cannot pass the Senate. I remain committed to developing a final conference report that will be supported by majorities of both Democrats and Republicans in the Senate. “I do believe the nation needs an energy bill. We need to establish predictable rules and mandatory reliability standards for electricity transmission, encourage diverse energy technologies, develop domestic sources of transportation fuels and research new technologies such as hydrogen. “For these reasons, I know we will eventually resolve these issues and get an energy bill. I would like that to be sooner rather than later, but it may be that more pressure needs to build to force compromise. That will happen as many of the tax incentives expire, and FERC continues to operate without clear, new statutory guidance. “I have just been elected to a six-year term. I plan to spend those six years as chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. I know we will get an energy bill. I will be patient, but how long should the country wait?” ###
