US lawmakers pledge Enron fallout won't cause legislative gridlock

Maureen Lorenzetti
OGJ Online

WASHINGTON, DC, Jan. 24 -- Untangling the financial and legal quagmire surrounding Enron Corp's financial collapse will not stop energy reform legislation from being considered this session, US congressional leaders said Wednesday.

Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-SD) said he still plans to debate an energy bill before the end of February, although he did not specify when a floor vote may happen.

"What I'd like to do is to finish the economic recovery bill, the farm bill and the election reform bill, and then move directly to energy," he said.

President George W. Bush and Republican leaders also list energy as a top legislative priority.

"I doubt Enron will take up the year," said Sen. Fred Thompson (R-Tenn.), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Government Affairs, which is holding hearings Thursday on Enron.

Nevertheless, lobbyists, whether they represent oil companies or environmental groups, are far less optimistic. They say Congress may in the end decide to postpone a comprehensive energy bill and instead address various issues on a piecemeal basis.

"The only way energy legislation may reclaim the spotlight away from Enron is if energy prices spike because there are supply disruptions in the Middle East," said a lobbyist who represents US oil companies.

The Republican-led House passed a sweeping energy bill last August that includes a controversial plan to allow leasing in a portion of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge coastal plain. The Senate in effect tabled energy legislation over ANWR in December but promised to return to energy reform before spring.

ANWR is only one part of the House bill, but its inclusion overshadowed efforts to win consensus on other energy and environment-related issues even before Enron's troubles.

Some of the issues on the table include: reform of reformulated gasoline rules; expanded tax incentives to increase domestic supply and encourage conservation; tighter fuel efficiency standards for cars and trucks; and examination of the way the government monitors emissions in power plants and refineries. The Senate bill also seeks more formal government oversight on climate change.

Electric restructuring, including the repeal of a Depression-era law designed to reign in the monopoly power of big utilities, is also in doubt.

Eight congressional committees have scheduled Enron hearings, crowding an already tight congressional schedule. And given it is an election year, Congress may not have the time or inclination to plow through complex and controversial issues that voters may not understand or care about given energy prices are lower.

"The same people who look at electric restructuring are the same people stuck figuring out the Enron mess," said one veteran energy lobbyist. "There is a lot of common ground on a restructuring bill, but it may be too much to ask for this year, especially given energy prices are lower and there haven't been any blackouts lately."

For similar reasons, lobbyists say it's unclear what the White House will decide to do on the electric restructuring issue. The Bush administration's vision on restructuring electricity markets is very similar to a plan offered by Senate Committee on Energy Jeff Bingaman (D-NM).

But for right now at least, a more pressing focus for the administration is to restore public confidence in publicly traded companies, within and outside the energy sector. Unless it moves forward quickly, Congress will legislate something for them.

The Securities and Exchange Commission last week urged energy companies to voluntarily expand disclosure of any energy trading contracts. Disclosure statements will also be the subject of numerous congressional hearings this winter. Congress is also expected to consider measures that would bar accounting firms from conducting both accounting and consulting for a client.

Enron even has become a factor in the annual federal budget Congress must approve. When asked by reporters about new budget deficits and expected calls by the White House to lower domestic spending, Daschle said he did not want to "Enron" the American people.

"I don't want to see them holding the bag at the end of the day just like Enron employees have held the bag.

"I don't want to destroy their Social Security system, I don't want to destroy their Medicare system, I don't want to destroy their ultimate ability to look with confidence at their retirement," he said.

Contact Maureen Lorenzetti at [email protected]