[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 5]
[Senate]
[Page 6579]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                            THE ENERGY BILL

  Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, I want to change the subject for a 
minute. Today the United States-Canada Power System Outage Task Force 
released their final report on the causes of the August 14, 2003 
blackouts and the ways to reduce the possibility of future blackouts. 
The Chair remembers, it was not too long ago when they had this 
northeastern blackout. The August 14 blackout was the worst blackout in 
North American history. It affected Ontario, Quebec, the States of 
Michigan, Ohio, New York, northern New Jersey, and parts of 
Massachusetts and Connecticut. Approximately 62,000 megawatts of 
customer load was lost, leaving close to 50 million people without 
power. Economic losses related to the blackout are estimated to range 
between $4 and $10 billion.
  The principal recommendation of the task force is that Congress enact 
mandatory reliability rules like those included in S. 2095. Guess what 
that is. That is the Energy bill. Everyone speaks as if it has 
provisions in it that they like to tell the public about. The truth of 
the matter is that bill is loaded with important provisions, matters of 
policy for America's future, and one is it provides us, if and when it 
is signed, with a mandatory system to regulate the customer load and 
the kinds of things that would prevent us from having another blackout.
  Its principal recommendation was mandatory reliability rules, such as 
the ones included in the Energy bill. Mandatory reliability rules are 
not the only requirement necessary to prevent blackouts. These 
standards by which our transmission grid should operate are the rules 
of the road, if you will, but we also need to upgrade our transmission 
system. The road itself, not just the rules of the road, needs to be 
improved. To avoid future blackouts and provide our industry and 
consumers with the reliable electricity they need, we need to invest in 
critical transmission infrastructure; provide limited Federal siting 
authority of transmission lines to ensure the transmission of national 
interest lines, and avoid the most significant areas where we had 
gridlock; streamline the permitting of siting for transmission lines to 
assure adequate transmission, develop advanced transmission technology 
and open access to the grid through regional transmission 
organizations. We need all these parts of the Energy bill.
  In addition, we need similarly important provisions relating to our 
growing dependence on natural gas: relicensing of hydroelectric plants, 
building a new generation of clean coal-powered plants, ethanol, the 
Alaska natural gas pipeline and conservation, and obviously we need 
some kind of tax incentive to start up again the nuclear powerplant 
business in America.
  The electricity reliability crisis was easy to see. Millions of 
people lost power. We are facing a similarly troubling time. It is more 
difficult to see the crisis because of our growing dependence upon 
imported oil and gas. By 2005, we will import 70 percent of our oil and 
30 percent of our natural gas.
  As economies grow around the world, where current demand is growing 
at extraordinary rates, we will become less influential in setting 
world prices and guaranteeing supply. We are literally slowly but 
surely allowing our economy to fall under the control of oil and 
natural gas exporting countries. We are worried about it now because of 
gas prices.
  If we don't pass this Energy bill, we will worry about it more each 
year, and we will become more dependent on more kinds of products and 
be less capable of handling our own business in our own way.
  From what I can see with the Chinese and the Indians out in the 
market, who want to buy up all the oil they can find, we had better 
come to our senses and pass an energy bill that will do many things, 
the least of which will produce much more natural gas for America than 
we are producing today and maximize crude oil production over which we 
have control.
  To this point, I have insisted, because aspects of such a broad 
policy are so complicated and need to be considered together, that we 
move on one comprehensive bill. However, last week I proposed to the 
Republican leader and to others--and he has agreed--to attach the 
energy tax bill provisions to the pending foreign sales corporation tax 
bill.
  We need to get the energy package done. It renews the urgently needed 
wind production tax credit. This package for the first time also 
extends those credits to solar and geothermal. The tax package includes 
incentives for a natural gas pipeline. Without the incentives, there 
will be no pipeline. It includes tax incentives for clean coal. Coal is 
our most abundant energy source. If we can make it burn cleaner, we 
will have enough coal to keep the lights on halfway into the 31st 
century.
  Once we get this package through, I will work with those who want to 
work with me on S. 2095. We will make sure we get it through.
  We have enough popular provisions in the authorizing package to power 
it through the Senate. We have ethanol, electricity reliability and 
loan guarantees relating to the pipeline, just to name a few.
  In addition, the balance of the bill scores our minus $1.2 billion 
which actually results in increased revenue to the Treasury over 10 
years.
  In conclusion, I strongly support the effort that our leader has made 
today. I think it will add considerable support to the foreign sales 
corporation bill, because the tax bill, in addition to the items I have 
just told you, provides tax incentives for people to buy alternative 
powered cars. It provides tax credits for consumers to buy energy 
efficient appliances and houses; technology to reduce energy 
consumption; new incentives to provide oil and gas from marginal--that 
is small--wells; expands the research and development tax credit for 
energy-related research universities; and involves tax provisions 
necessary to ensure that increased use of ethanol does not reduce the 
funds available to the Highway Trust Fund.
  When you add it up, we have now before the Senate an excellent tax 
package. Each one helps the other, and both together assure their 
passage.
  Then we have what is left: the authorizing parts of this bill. I have 
enumerated a few of them. I am certain that will become very much 
wanted once we get the tax package beyond us. Then we will proceed 
because the Senate will find that to delay the residual package any 
longer is sheer folly.
  I yield the floor.

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