Senate Democrats, led by Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, are pressing ahead in conjunction with the White House on an energy bill that will be introduced in the next two weeks, and the Pickens Plan will be featured as a central component of the legislation. An article published in The New York Times reports that the leaders have agreed to press ahead with a scaled-back energy bill:
“If not now, when?” said Senator Harry M. Reid of Nevada, the Democratic majority leader, who plans to bring the compromise bill to the Senate floor the week of July 26. “We have to move to do something about our dependence on foreign oil. That’s what this legislation is all about.”
Four elements are slated to be included in the bill: responding to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, promoting greater energy efficiency, developing more clean-energy production, and curbing power plant emissions. A principal focus will be increased use of natural gas as a transportation fuel, and Majority Leader Reid made specific mention of the Pickens Plan:
He said he was prepared to incorporate a plan championed by T. Boone Pickens, the oil and gas executive, to sharply expand the use of natural gas as a transportation fuel in large vehicle fleets. The proposal, supported by Senators Orrin G. Hatch, Republican of Utah, and Robert Menendez, Democrat of New Jersey, would provide tax breaks for natural-gas-powered vehicles and fueling stations.
This scaled-back energy bill is designed to appeal to Republicans as well as Democrats.
“This legislation, it’s not all green stuff – you know, Sierra Club stuff,” Mr. Reid said. “We’re importing 70 percent of the oil that we use. We have a need to change the paradigm in America. And that is, we need to have a move to renewable energy.”
Similar legislation in the House introduced last year by Representative Dan Boren of Oklahoma enjoys widespread bipartisan support and has 145 cosponsors.
Read the entire article HERE.