By Caitlyn Kim
Washington, DC – The US Senate overwhelmingly approved an energy bill Tuesday. Included are provisions that could impact New York State.
The Senate's version of the energy bill includes $18 billion dollars in tax incentives and expansion of ethanol use. It also supports a number of alternative energy sources including nuclear power.
The House and Senate must now reconcile the differences between their two bills which could be challenging. The House version of the bill provides liability protection for the makers of MTBE. The Senate version does not.
The differences are, in part, what led Democratic New York Senator Hillary Clinton to support the Senate's energy bill.
I think it, on balance, is a much better bill than the House's bill and I hope that when it comes back from conference I'll be able to support it," Clinton said.
Other disparities pose a challenge as the two chambers negotiate. The House bill includes opening up Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. These differences will have to be worked out soon if President Bush is to sign the bill by his goal of August 1st.