Congressional Record, Volume 149 Issue 83 (Monday, June 9, 2003)

[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 83 (Monday, June 9, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7512-S7514]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

[Congressional Record: June 9, 2003 (Senate)]
[Page S7512-S7514]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:cr09jn03-102]

THE ENERGY BILL

Mr. THOMAS. Mr. President, I will talk a little bit about the pending
business that will be before us at 1 o'clock. That, of course, is the
Energy Bill.

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I am pleased we are now in our second week of consideration of the
Energy Bill. I must say we are also in our second year of consideration
of an energy bill. We did this last year. We talked about it for a
couple of weeks on the floor and finally came up with a bill. We went
to conference committee and were actually unable to put something
together.
I continue to believe one of the most important things for this
country at this time is to have a policy on energy, a policy that
begins to describe a little more completely where we think we need to
be in terms of the future, what we have to do to achieve that vision of
where we need to be, and I think to remind ourselves that we are so
involved with energy. Whether it is in your business, whether it is in
your family, whether it is in defense, whether it is in the economy,
energy has something to do with everything we do.
We have let ourselves get into a position where we are 60 percent
dependent on foreign oil, much of which comes from that part of the
world that is certainly in turmoil much of the time. So that is a real
security problem for us, and an economic problem as well.
Right now, we find people talking about a shortage of natural gas, to
be used largely for air-conditioning when it warms up in the summer.
That is among the kinds of things that really do have an impact on our
lives which we could do something about.
Again, one of the aspects of energy, which I think is true of most
any part of our lives, is that things change, and they change
substantially. This is particularly true in energy, and we have to make
changes to accommodate the differences that occur.
With regard to natural gas, for example, we are using much more
natural gas domestically than we did in the past. For one thing, where
we had traditionally used coal in the generation of electricity, 97
percent of the generators, in the last several years, have been gas
fired. Well, maybe that is all right, but we are not properly prepared
to do that.
Right now our biggest source of natural gas is in the West, the area
I come from, in the mountain region, and Wyoming particularly. That is
our largest source of natural gas for the future. But our problem is we
did not expect that, and we have not had the proper delivery system to
move that gas from where it is available to the marketplace. Now we do
not have the capacity to move the amount of gas we have available, so
if there is a shortage, it is not going to be a shortage of the
resource; it is going to be a shortage of our ability to have an
infrastructure to move the gas where it needs to go.
There are other types of energy in the very same position. I
mentioned electricity. There was a time when electric utilities
generated and distributed their resource in the same area. If you were
served by a particular company, that company generated the electricity
and distributed it to your business or to your home, and those two
things went right together. Now we have come to a situation where much
of the generation is done by what is called a market generator who does
not do distributing but sells it wholesale to the distributor.
So what does that require? Obviously, it requires the transmission
capacity to move that energy to where the markets are. And we have not
been prepared to do that. So we find ourselves in an unusual situation.
In the area of electricity, we also find ourselves at a time when we
need to have a little different structure to be able to regulate this
energy.
Again, as I said before, when the distribution and generation was in
one place, the State public utility commissions could handle all of
those things. Now it moves quite often across State lines, so that the
States have less involvement in the movement of the electricity. So we
need to develop what are called RTOs, regional transportation
organizations, which include a number of States. There would be one in
the West, for example, that probably would include 10 or 11 States, so
there are joint efforts to be able to control the movement of the
energy as it goes among the States and not each State competing with
one another to cross State lines. There is a change in the way we do
things. But we have not kept up with that change in terms of the way we
regulate or prepare for that movement.
There is a great controversy within the Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission, where FERC has moved in to do more of that regulation.
States do not like that particularly. They would like to do it closer
to home. I agree with that, but we have to have the structure to do
that.
Obviously, there are other things that are equally as important, such
as the idea that we find alternative sources of energy and are able to
put them into a situation where they are competitive economically with
the old sources we have always had. It takes a lot of investment,
incentive, and research to be able to put those things together.
Therefore, we need to have a policy that moves us in the direction of
wind energy, or whatever it may be.
One of the real opportunities the President has talked about and we
ought to be doing something about is converting coal, for example, to
hydrogen so that it can be much cleaner for its use, so that it can be
more easily moved about for its use, and it could even be used in
automobiles, if we could find a way to do that. It takes research and
incentive and money to do that. So alternatives are also important.
Along with that, of course, there is a provision for research, so
that we can find new ways to do things, so we can find a way to have
more conservation and be able to use energy with more of a thought
toward conservation. We can do that, but we have not really set those
goals for ourselves.
Then, of course, finally, one of the things that is most important is
the idea of having increased domestic production. We have a great deal
of fossil fuel resources in this country. Coal is the largest one. Coal
is available to us, but the production of coal is in two or three areas
of the country generally, so we have to find a way to produce that
coal, move it to the market, and then have it in a way that is
protective of the environment. We can do that as well. It takes more
research. We have to do something with cleaner air. We know we can do
those things, but we have not done them as well as we might.
So there is a great deal we can do in terms of increasing production.
Fifty percent of my State, for example, is owned by the Federal
Government. Under much of that land are energy resources--coal, gas,
and oil--and we need to continue to find better ways to produce those
resources and, at the same time, protect the environment. We can do
that. I am not suggesting we produce on every bit of land. Some should
be set aside for single uses, such as wilderness. But these are all
problems with which we need to deal.
I guess I will continue to emphasize that this bill is not just
something that is dealing with today's issues but, rather, an effort to
have a vision in the future of where we need to be, to be able to fill
our needs and help our economy, create jobs, and have the living
conditions we all desire. That means, of course, the availability of
substantial amounts of energy.

So I hope we can move forward. I know there are different ideas about
how you do it and different notions, depending upon where you live in
different parts of the country--whether you are in a city or in a rural
area and those kinds of things. But we need to come up with the kind of
policy that is good for the country. We really pretty much have done
this.
We worked hard in committee, and we came up with a committee plan.
The House has a plan. There are some differences, of course, between
the two, but that is what our committees are for, to bring together the
House and the Senate versions on various issues and come together with
the one that will be acceptable to the Congress and, in this case, also
acceptable to the administration.
The President and the Vice President, of course, have been very
supportive of an energy policy, and they continue to be. They have had
some ideas that have all been put into the plan or talked about in the
plan.
So we are off on it again this afternoon. We will be doing some
things on nuclear power. It is interesting, again, to talk about what
nuclear could be in the future. Right now, most people don't realize
how much nuclear power is being generated. In some States, 30 percent
of the power is nuclear. It is

[[Page S7514]]

probably the cleanest way to produce electricity, although there are
some problems. One is the waste that comes from nuclear use. We can
resolve some of those issues.
Mr. President, I hope we can move in that direction. I want to
continue to work at it.
I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. DeWINE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for
the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so ordered. The
Chair recognizes the Senator from Ohio.
Mr. DeWINE. I thank the Chair.

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