Washington, D.C. – The Senate today approved 51-49 an amendment offered by Sen. Domenici to the S. Con Res 83, the FY 07 Congressional Budget Resolution. The amendment creates a $450 million Energy Reserve Fund by taking $150 million annually from anticipated ANWR bonus bid receipts in Fiscal Years ‘09 through ‘11.

The money will help fund the implementation of the Energy Policy Act of 2005. Last year, 74 Senators voted for the first comprehensive energy bill in 13 years. Today, Domenici urged the senators’ support in funding the programs they authorized in the bill.  Fully funding the energy bill is critical to providing clean, affordable and abundant energy to Americans while preserving the country’s energy security, he said. America can’t solve its energy challenges without funding the energy bill, Domenici told his colleagues.

In addition to funding the energy bill, the Energy Reserve Fund will allow Congress to go even further than the President’s budget in finding new ways to conserve and more efficient ways to use energy, making renewable energies more affordable and discovering break-through technologies and new energy to help wean America off Middle East oil.

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