By the OGJ Online Staff
WASHINGTON, DC, Nov. 28 -- US Congressional Republican leaders Wednesday criticized Senate Democrats for delaying floor debate on energy reform legislation until next month. They vowed not to give up efforts to attach their bill to other pending legislation.
Congress is expected to leave for a month-long recess in mid-December.
"Energy is a key issue. We want to debate and vote on it now. Or we want a time certain next year with an up or down vote on final passage," Senate Republican Policy Committee Chairman Larry Craig (R-Ida.) said in an interview off the Senate floor.
Assurances from Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle that he would move energy legislation to the floor early next year were not enough for Craig (OGJ Online, Nov. 27, 2001).
A key stumbling block over moving an energy bill forward has been whether the government should lease a portion of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil companies for drilling.
"What Sen. Daschle said yesterday was politics. He is opening up the opportunity to bring up the bill to allow John Kerry (a Democratic senator from Massachusetts who opposes leasing) and others to filibuster and then opine how tragic it is he has to pull down energy bill and move on to other issues."
An energy bill that passed the Republican-controlled House in August includes an ANWR drilling provision.
But Senate leasing proponents say they still do not have the 60 votes needed to shut off a potential filibuster of any legislation that would allow ANWR leasing. They do, however, believe they have a simple majority of lawmakers that would approve ANWR.
"With no assurances on an up or down vote, Frank Murkowski (R-Alas.) (ranking member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources) will try to attach it any chance he gets. Anything that moves that is amendable," will be a target, Craig said, adding that the pending farm bill could be the next target.
"The most important thing we can do for America's farmers is give them abundant and inexpensive energy supplies. It's better than any commodity support price we can offer them," he said.
Past efforts to attach ANWR to pending legislation have so far been unsuccessful. Both the White House and congressional leaders have not been willing to delay critical appropriations bills on that one issue.
Earlier in the day, Daschle defended his decision to wait on an energy bill, saying he wants to give senators a chance to debate what promises to be a contentious battle over ANWR.
"What I anticipate is an extended debate, and I anticipate that there will be efforts to invoke cloture [stop a filibuster] on the debate and I don't think there are sufficient votes to obtain cloture. So there will be votes on the ANWR amendment, but I don't think it will be an up or down vote.
"But at some point we have to ask the question, do we hold all of energy policy hostage to an extended debate on ANWR? I hope we don't do that, but that's going to be up to our Republican colleagues."
ANWR is not the only energy issue before Congress, however. A sweeping economic stimulus package passed by the House of Representatives last month would help multinational oil companies because it advocates sweeping tax relief for large corporations. It would allow companies that pay the Alternative Minimum Tax to claim a credit retroactively for 15 years.
Consumer groups argued that the provision would collectively give multinational oil companies close to $1 billion in tax refunds. The House bill also would extend through 2003 a key marginal well tax provision due to expire this year.
Senate Democratic leaders say they want an economic stimulus bill not to give favorable tax treatment to specific sectors. Instead, they want accelerated income tax rate cuts, a 30% bonus on what companies can depreciate, and a payroll tax holiday.
Congressional sources are predicting the AMT provisions will likely be dropped from any economic stimulus bill because they are controversial.
Other pending legislation that may include an energy provision is a defense spending bill. Congress is expected to add homeland security measures to that legislation, and that could include up to $2 billion that would be earmarked for local water systems and energy infrastructures such as pipelines and refineries.