Senate leaders plan vote on stalled energy bill

[salin]

Folks... here it is again - and it appears to be back on a fast moving track. Please keep this story alive/kicked today, I will be out 'til evening. LBN moves so quickly that this could be lost in the news... while the new form of the bill has just quietly been revived.

Senate leaders plan vote on stalled energy bill
Reuters, 02.12.04, 11:24 PM ET

By Chris Baltimore

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senate party leaders reached a deal late Thursday to bring a slimmed-down, $14 billion energy bill to a swift vote after lawmakers return from a week-long holiday later this month.

In a bid to break an impasse on the first major overhaul of U.S. energy policy in more than a decade, Majority Leader Bill Frist formally introduced a stripped-down bill.

Frist, a Tennessee Republican, invoked a parliamentary rule that allows him to bring the new legislation directly to the Senate floor for debate, bypassing committee action.

"We will consider it as quickly as possible, in a constrained manner, with as few amendments as possible," Frist said on the Senate floor, with a deal in hand from Minority Leader Tom Daschle.

---snip---

Frist and Daschle said the bill will come to a swift vote when the Senate returns from a week-long recess Feb. 23. Even if it wins Senate passage, the bill would still face an uphill path to passage in the House.

more... http://www.forbes.com/business/newswire/2004/02/12/rtr1259703.html

[dusty64]

1. The corporate theocracy

and their political minions NEVER give up. Time to call our Senators again ( I think Clinton is safe, but Schumer is scaring me lately.) Does anyone know if that MTBE provision is still in there?

[Dr.Phool]

2. Read the article

Although the Senate version dropped the MTBE provisions, Tom DeLoon (R-Tex), said it,s a non-starter in the house without it.

What they'll probably try to do, is pass different versions in the House and Senate, then pass a conference report with the MTBE provisions in there.

Start calling your Senators now!

[salin]

3. Kick - keep an eye out - they say they will release the bill sometime

today - there should be some news items on it - link them to this thread, if possible - lets watch where this goes and get active.

Thanks.

See you all this evening.

[Robbien]

5. This is what was said on the Senate floor today

Under this agreement, I will Rule 14 an energy package and put it before the Senate in an expeditious way. We will consider it as quickly as possible, in a constrained manner, with as few amendments as possible. Senator DASCHLE and I will seek to get an agreement to limit amendments, but if that is not possible, we understand that it my be necessary to file cloture to move the process along. The goal would not be to preclude any Member's right to offer an amendment, but to ensure that the Senate has an opportunity to decide: do we want to consider a slimmed-down energy package, or not?

So, for the information of colleagues, that is how Senator DASCHLE and I have agreed to handle energy issues in the immediate future. I would now yield to the Democratic leader for his comments.

Mr. President, this is indeed how the Majority Leader and I have agreed to proceed with respect to the consideration of an energy package.

I believe this is the most appropriate way to proceed, and I appreciate working with the Majority Leader to reach this understanding.


Daschle is a sell out and he is working on Durbin to vote aye on this bill this time around. I really dislike my Senator right now and he will get my emails and calls on this.

[Mandate My Ass]

4. KIck

*

[Robbien]

6. The savings in this slimmed down bill are mainly timing issues

Republicans unveiled the text of the $14 billion, 1,242-page bill on Friday. It is largely similar to the previous draft they fashioned in November.

The bulk of the savings in the bill's tax breaks come from delaying their effective date by a year.

Republicans also sliced about $6.7 billion by dropping programs for energy efficiency, deep-water drilling and coastal restoration in Louisiana and other oil-producing states.

The bill retains tax incentives to boost crude oil and natural gas production in the Gulf of Mexico and on federal lands, as well as federal loan guarantees to build a pipeline to carry natural gas from Alaska to the lower 48 states.

from here
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=businessNews&storyID=4357237

So they are just shuffling the deck chairs.