[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 60 (Tuesday, May 16, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Page S4005]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  NATIONAL ENERGY SECURITY ACT OF 2000

  Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President. I rise today to speak about S. 2557, the 
National Energy Security Act of 2000.
  First of all, I want to thank the Republican leader, Senator Lott, 
who pulled together a task force to address the serious problem of the 
lack of a national energy policy, and also Senator Murkowski, Chairman 
of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.
  From my viewpoint on the Task Force, I was representing a State that 
appeared to be the proverbial canary in the coal mine as Maine was one 
of the early Northeast states not only to bear the brunt of low oil 
inventories during this past winter that was 20 degrees below normal in 
January, but a state that also experienced some of the highest prices 
in the country for home heating oil, kerosene and propane. Prices 
doubled and remained high throughout the winter months only then to be 
followed this spring by the highest prices in over two decades at the 
gas pump. And, this week, prices at the pump are once again on their 
way up, jumping more than 12 cents overnight.
  The entire episode has pointed out just how vulnerable--and 
unprepared--the Federal Government is when it comes to a workable 
energy policy. As we found out, there was no short term policy to 
follow. The Administration, as Secretary Richardson stated at an oil 
crisis summit in Bangor last February, was caught napping. So, the goal 
of the task force was to come up with legislation that would decrease 
the country's dependency on foreign oil to 50 percent by the year 2010 
through the enhancement of the use of renewable energy resources and 
includes the extension of tax credits for the production of energy from 
biomass, including wood waste; increases eligibility to the federal 
Weatherization Program, an outreach program to encourage consumers to 
take actions to avoid seasonal price increases through a summer fill 
and fuel budgeting program; and provides tax credits for residential 
use of solar power.
  The bill enhances domestic energy production oil by offering tax 
relief for oil and gas produced from small marginal wells--wells that 
produce less than 15 barrels a day--that have already been drilled but 
have been capped when oil prices hit rock bottom over the past few 
years. Bringing these marginal wells back into domestic production also 
has the benefit of producing more U.S. jobs.
  I am particularly pleased that the bill authorizes the Secretary of 
Energy to establish a Northeast Heating Oil Reserve to be used when 
home heating oil inventories fall dangerously low and prices escalate. 
The Reserve would store two million barrels of refined home heating oil 
within a day's delivery to Northeast states if supplies run dangerously 
low because of a sudden demand due to cold winter weather.
  Mr. President, I would have liked to have been a cosponsor of S. 
2557, because we need a comprehensive policy and the National Energy 
Security Act was an effort to start down that road. I cannot, however, 
because the bill also calls for the opening up of the Arctic Coastal 
Plain, which would allow for oil and gas exploration and drilling in 
the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. I continue to believe that ANWR 
should remain protected and there are a number of other steps that can 
be taken to increase or conserve our domestic supply.
  Now that this legislation has been introduced, potential solutions to 
our Nation's energy policy--or lack of it--can at least be considered 
and debated.

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