Misguided Senate Passes Misguided Energy Bill
The Senate passed an energy bill late July 31 night by a vote of 84-14, at the end of a day of byzantine maneuvering, political posturing and gross miscalculation by the Democratic leadership. The bill passed replaces S. 14, the bill the Senate had been debating, and is identical to that passed by the Senate in 2002, but which never got through a Senate-House conference committee and thus never became law.
Among the bill's provisions are reauthorization of the Price-Anderson Act, support for reprocessing of nuclear waste, and creation of the Nuclear Power 2010 program, which seeks deployment of new nuclear reactors by 2010. The bill does not, however, include the massive loan guarantees for new reactors contained in S. 14, nor funding for President Bush's hydrogen initiative, which would have included construction of a hydrogen production reactor in Idaho.
At least, the bill doesn't include those things yet....Senate Energy Committee Chairman Pete Domenici already has made it clear he intends to rewrite the bill in the Senate-House conference committee to be more like S. 14. Said Domenici, "The reason I'm happy is because I'll be rewriting that bill. We're in the majority and we'll write a completely different bill." Domenici specifically said the bill will be rewritten to include more incentives for nuclear power.
Still, the battle is not over. The conference committee will take place during the Fall; when its work is completed, both the House and Senate will have to vote again on whether to accept the conference committee version. At that point, we will seek a filibuster against final passage of the bill.
What you can do: At this point, it is important to keep pressure on the Senate and let them know they are moving on the wrong path. A list of those who voted against the bill is below (all others voted for the bill). If your Senators voted against the bill, please call (202-224-3121 or toll free at 1-800-839-5276) or fax them (or write to them c/o NIRS and we will deliver your letters to them), thank them for their vote, and urge them to take a leadership role in assuring the bill's final defeat when it emerges from conference committee. If your Senators voted for the bill, please call or fax them (or write to them c/o NIRS), express your outrage that they voted for an unnecessary and destructive energy bill, and demand that they work to defeat final passage of the bill. It would also be an excellent idea to write letters to the editor of your local newspapers about how your Senators voted. And, as always, keep organizing and keep educating the public in your area.
We're not done yet! Early yesterday, we were on the verge of winning a key vote which would have sent S. 14 back to committee, perhaps for good. We have time now, at least a couple of months, to continue organizing and putting pressure on the Senate to do the right thing—and stop this energy bill. We CAN do it! As always, we will help you in your efforts any way we can.
Michael Mariotte
Executive Director
Nuclear Information and Resource Service
1424 16th Street NW, #404
Washington, DC 20036
The following Senators voted AGAINST the energy bill:
Boxer (D-CA)
Kennedy (D-MA)
Reed (D-RI)
Cantwell (D-WA)
Kyl (R-AZ)
Schumer (D-NY)
Clinton (D-NY)
Lautenberg (D-NJ)
Sununu (R-NH)
Feingold (D-WI)
McCain (R-AZ)
Wyden (D-or)
Feinstein (D-CA)
Murray (D-WA)
Not voting: Kerry and Lieberman
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