Smith Statement on Disappointing Energy Bill

Press Release

Congressman Adrian Smith (R-NE) this morning released the following statement concerning H.R. 6899, an energy measure which has drawn criticism from both Republicans and Democrats.

"This energy bill is not only ineffective, but counter productive. Senators from both parties have said it will never see the light of day and President Bush has threatened to veto this legislation.

"Rather than working in a bipartisan manner to pass meaningful legislation, Speaker Pelosi bypassed the regular committee process and introduced this legislation in the dead of night.

"Even worse, Democrats have closed the process, so even members of their own party will not be able to amend the bill. This is party politics at its worse and the American people are paying the price," Smith said.

The bill has drawn criticism for permanently locking away nearly 90 percent of America's offshore energy reserves on the Outer Continental Shelf, blocking valuable and job-creating energy production on Alaska's North Slope and Inter-Mountain West, and stopping efforts to produce more and cheaper energy through emissions-free nuclear, tar sands, and coal-to-liquids technologies. The bill also prohibits coastal states from sharing revenues from energy exploration off their shores, which effectively eliminates the possibility of states ever authorizing such exploration.

In comparison, Smith is a co-sponsor of H.R. 6566, the American Energy Act, which would open deep water ocean reserves, would share revenues from both existing and new leases with coastal states, and uses revenues generated by exploration in the deep ocean and on the Arctic coastal plain to establish a renewable trust fund.

Smith, who earlier in the year visited a renewable energy lab in Colorado and oil fields in Alaska, has requested a meeting with Speaker Pelosi to discuss the trip and its findings.

Smith is also a cosponsor of the following pieces of legislation, all of which would offer some relief for Americans suffering from our current energy crisis, as opposed to H.R. 6899 - which includes provisions from none:

H.R. 3089, No More Excuses Energy Act of 2007
Reduces the price of gasoline by opening new American oil refineries, investing in clean energy sources such as wind, nuclear, and captured carbon dioxide; and making available more homegrown energy through environmentally sensitive exploration of the Arctic Energy Slope and America's Deep-Sea Energy Reserves.

H.R. 2279, Expand American Refining Capacity on Closed Military Installations
Reduces the price of gasoline by streamlining the refinery application process and by requiring the President to open at least three closed military installations for the purpose of siting new and reliable American refineries.

H.R. 5656, To Repeal the Ban on Acquiring Alternative Fuels
Reduces the price of gasoline by allowing the federal government to procure advanced alternative fuels derived from diverse sources like oil shale, tar sands and coal-to-liquid technology.

H.R. 2208, Coal-Liquid Fuel Act
Reduces the price of gasoline by encouraging the use of clean coal-to-liquid technology authorizing the Secretary of Energy to enter into loan agreements with coal-to-liquid projects that produce innovative transportation fuel.

H.R. 2493, Fuel Mandate Reduction Act of 2007
Reduces the price of gasoline by removing fuel blend requirements and onerous government mandates if they contribute to unaffordable gas prices.

H.R. 6107, American Energy Independence and Price Reduction Act
Reduces the price of gasoline by opening the Arctic Energy Slope to environmentally sensitive American energy exploration. Development footprint would be limited to 0.01% of the Refuge, and revenue received from the new leases would be invested in a long term alternative energy trust fund.

H.R. 6108, Deep Ocean Energy Resources Act of 2008
Reduces the price of gasoline by enabling the United States to responsibly explore its own deep ocean to produce American Energy. The bill would grant coastal states the authority to keep exploration 100 miles from their coastlines and it would also allow states to share in the revenues received.

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