Stevens: Energy bill may have to wait until next yeat
FAIRBANKS - Just a few months ago, Sen. Ted Stevens predicted that a House-Senate committee would produce a national energy bill this fall. But his thinking has changed.
"It's entirely possible this bill won't go to the floor until next year," he said.
Alaska's congressional delegation wants the bill for what it could bring home-tax credits that encourage construction of a natural gas pipeline from the North Slope. And the delegation wants changes in law to allow oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
Those, however, are the provisions that are among the biggest sticking points for the energy bill, according to the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.
Stevens said in July that he thought the conference committee would produce a bill this fall because both delegations from the House and Senate are led by Republicans. Last year, a similar bill died due to differences between Democrats, who led the Senate, and the Republicans who had the House majority.
This year, Republicans have a majority control of the entire conference, but they still have enough disagreements to slow progress.
Their staff members have been writing pieces of the bill for the past month, with only occasional meetings by actual congressmen. They'll try again next week, when Congress returns to town.
"I hope that a conference meeting can occur next week and am working toward that objective," Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M. and the leader of the Senate contingent, said Thursday. His spokeswoman had earlier said the legislation might not be complete until January.
Sens. Tom Daschle, Harry Reid and Jeff Bingaman late last week wrote a lengthy letter endorsing the gas line tax credits, using arguments nearly identical to those offered by Alaska's delegation.
The ANWR provision also appears to be creating some friction. Republicans on all sides support drilling, but Domenici has been more cautious about putting it in the bill. He views it as a potential poison pill, because, with it, several senators may launch an unstoppable filibuster against the entire energy bill.