Washington, D.C. – Senate Energy & Natural Resources Chairman Pete V. Domenici today issued a broad call for legislative proposals that offer long-term solutions to the looming crisis in natural gas supply and demand. Domenici invites industry, government, public interest groups and private citizens to submit proposals to the Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee by January 7, 2005. The proposals will be reviewed by committee staff. The most promising ideas will be discussed at a half-day meeting tentatively scheduled for January 19, 2005. Domenici and other national energy leaders have been concerned over tightening gas supplies for the past five years. Natural gas prices began climbing sharply in June, 2001 and have continued to creep up. Four years of rising gas prices have forced several manufacturing companies to move operations overseas where gas is cheaper, resulting in loss of U.S. manufacturing jobs. Rising gas prices have also driven up the cost of an array of goods and services and placed a financial hardship on consumers whose homes are heated and cooled by natural gas. Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan has identified tight natural gas supplies as a looming crisis that could harm the U.S. economy. Congress this fall authorized construction of an Alaska natural gas pipeline and provided loan guarantees to facilitate that construction. The 2,100-mile pipeline will deliver 4.5 billion cubic feet of gas from Alaska to a gas hub in Chicago. However, that amount is less than 10 percent of the total gas supply needed by the United States by 2025. The Energy Information Administration predicts the United States will have to import 20 percent of its gas in the form of liquid natural gas by 2020 to meet rising demand. Today, the United States consumes about 23 trillion cubic feet of gas per year. The EIA estimates U.S. consumption will increase by nearly 30 percent in the next 15 years. However, local resistance on both coasts to the siting of liquid natural gas facilities makes it difficult to build the infrastructure for the needed imports. The committee later this week will issue guidelines for the written proposals, which can include proposed bill language. Depending on the success of the natural gas meeting, a similar process may be pursued regarding other energy supply and conservation challenges. The point of contact for natural gas proposals is Lisa Epifani at lisa_epifani@energy.senate.gov.