Watching Government Exit Johnston

With Patrick Crow from Washington, D.C. [email protected] One of the many government workers in Washington, D.C., who retired this month was Bennett Johnston, a 24-year federal employee. If you don't know his name, you should. Sen. J. Bennett Johnston of Louisiana has been a major player-if not the major player-in energy legislation during his four terms. He served on the Senate energy committee (or its predecessor) all 24 years. He chaired it for 8 years, while Democrats controlled the

Dec. 23, 1996

3 min read

One of the many government workers in Washington, D.C., who retired this month was Bennett Johnston, a 24-year federal employee.

If you don't know his name, you should. Sen. J. Bennett Johnston of Louisiana has been a major player-if not the major player-in energy legislation during his four terms.

He served on the Senate energy committee (or its predecessor) all 24 years. He chaired it for 8 years, while Democrats controlled the Senate, and was the ranking Democrat on the panel for 8 years when Republicans were in power.

So Johnston endured the long struggle over natural gas price controls; participated in the "windfall profits" tax (WPT), U.S. Synfuels Corp., and Energy Mobilization Board debates; worked to win WPT repeal and natural gas price decontrol; failed to pass a bill allowing leasing of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) Coastal Plain; engineered passage of the 1992 Energy Policy Act; and finally rammed through the Deepwater Royalty Relief Act.

Wins and losses

What set Johnston apart from others was that he was a stalwart yet reasonable advocate for developing all sources of energy, not just oil and gas.

In terms of legislation, Johnston said, "Oil and gas is in reasonably good shape. Natural gas is no longer terribly over-regulated, and with the new competitiveness in electricity, it is the premium fuel for generation.

"The biggest problem for oil is environmental regulation and the failure to have regulatory reform. What we need, of course, is sound science that accurately and dispassionately assesses environmental risks and costs and to deal with those properly in a scientific way."

Johnston said, "I would like to say we should open more offshore areas for drilling, but having fought that battle for many years, I think outside of the Gulf of Mexico, it is fairly unrealistic."

He is proud of how his deepwater royalty relief bill has affected leasing in the gulf: "It has exceeded our most optimistic projections."

A major disappointment was having to withdraw the ANWR bill. "We could have passed that legislation. I think we had the votes, and I think we had the issue well in hand. But then the Exxon Valdez accident occurred."

He said natural gas deregulation was the most controversial energy issue during his tenure. "That debate totally consumed the Congress for a whole session."

The future

Johnston is wary on global climate change. "We need to take the issue seriously as a country. We ought to conserve energy, promote energy efficiency, and reduce greenhouse gases.

"What I especially oppose is putting the burden on industry in the U.S. (to achieve carbon dioxide emission reductions), because that's easiest politically to do. We might get many times the payoff for the same amount of money in areas like Asia."

Johnston plans to practice law in Washington. Although he has been mentioned as a possible successor to retiring Energy Sec. Hazel O'Leary, he said, "I'm not seeking that job, and I'm not expecting it."