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WYDEN SPEAKS OUT AGAINST ENERGY BILL
Senator says bill is missing provisions to protect
consumers, environment, homeland security

November 19, 2003

Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) today opposed the Energy Policy Act (S. 6), stating on the Senate floor that the legislation could hurt Northwest consumers, damage the environment and weaken homeland security. Wyden declared a great opportunity had been missed to create good energy policy to reduce America’s dependence on foreign oil, ban fraudulent and manipulative practices in energy markets, and address anti-competitive practices by oil companies that increase prices at the pump. He stated that instead, the current bill loosens export controls on highly enriched uranium, allows oil and gas extractors exemptions from the Safe Drinking Water Act, gives energy producers immunities from the Clean Water Act and provides $23 billion in subsidies to energy companies. Wyden expressed disappointment that the conference was held in behind closed doors and that Republican conferees had allowed little room for bipartisan agreements or common ground.

The following are Wyden’s remarks on the following issues:

Reducing Dependence on Foreign Oil

“Reducing America’s dependence on foreign oil is the dipstick for measuring an energy bill. And on that calculus, this legislation is more than several quarts low. At a time when our country can be held hostage by oil-producing nations, we had a chance to go forward with legislation that would make us truly energy-independent. At a time when cutting-edge renewable resources are at our fingertips, what this conference report does is let these exciting technologies slip through our fingers. At a time when the people of our country have been clamoring for a fresh approach, a different energy future, this conference report looks at energy policy through the rear view mirror.”

Energy Consumers

“The people of my part of the country were shellacked by the Enron debacle. We had scores of workers at one of our major utilities who used to have hundreds and hundreds of thousands of dollars in their retirement accounts. Now they have virtually nothing as a result of Enron. The conference report did virtually nothing to deal with the market manipulation that went on the Enron case. What this legislation does is in effect say that we will ban one, just one of the manipulative practices used in Enron. But everything else, you’ve got free rein to manipulate the American consumer.”

Uranium Export Controls

“I don’t think anybody in the United States doubts the seriousness of the terrorist threat around the world. Controls in current law are intended to end the dependence of foreign companies on nuclear bomb-grade materials. But the conference report, incredible as it may seem, goes in just the opposite direction and is going to make it easier for terrorists to traffic in these nuclear bomb-grade materials. The conference report would give foreign producers a fresh nine-year holiday on converting highly enriched uranium into the much safer lower enriched uranium. A conversion, in my view, that should have happened years ago. I fought in conference to keep in place the current export controls on highly enriched uranium, and I believe, Mr. President, that had my amendment passed, it would have empowered President Bush to be able to fulfill his goal of keeping nuclear materials out of the hands of terrorists. Unfortunately, this too went down on strictly party lines.”

Gas Prices

“The Secretary of Energy has absolutely no authority to do anything with respect to skyrocketing gasoline prices. So what I sought to do in the conference and over the last few months is give the Federal Trade Commission the authority to go after documented anticompetitive practices in markets where you basically have three or possibly four of the oil companies controlling more than 60% of the gas that is sold in this area. Many members of the United States Senate represent just those communities, communities where in effect you have seen the competitive forces, market forces, sucked right out of the gasoline markets in their communities. Unfortunately, that too, was rejected on a straight, party-line vote.”

Overall

“I think we had an opportunity for a bipartisan bill in this area. As I’ve been able to do in my home state with our colleague, Senator Smith, I think there was an opportunity for common ground on a whole host of key kinds of changes that would have laid out a vision for a very different energy future. But, essentially, what you had for weeks and weeks was a blackout. We had energy blackouts last summer with respect to this legislation. Senator Bingaman and others and I who were on the conference faced an information blackout. And any time you go behind closed doors, any time you do something along the lines of a conference in secret, it is an invitation – this is an invitation – to the special interests to be able to exploit their clout and their influence and that is exactly what happened here, Mr. President.”

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