US senators compromise on conservation funding bill
US Sens. Frank Murkowski (R-Alas.) and Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) said Friday they have agreed on a Conservation and Reinvestment Act (CARA), ensuring the Senate energy committee will approve the bill at a markup July 18-19. The bill would earmark $3 billion/year of federal offshore oil revenues, which now go into the general fund, to finance various government conservation programs.