Congress Approves Energy Bill with Billions of Dollars in Subsidies and Deregulation for Energy Industry

Interview with Tyson Slocum, of the Public Citizen's Energy Program, conducted by Melinda Tuhus

An industry-friendly energy bill was one of the first pieces of legislation put forward by the Bush administration shortly after taking office in early 2001. But the legislation was mired in controversy as lawsuits by conservative and liberal groups sought access to information about secret meetings to formulate the measure Vice President Dick Cheney had held with executives from the energy industry such as Enron. Every year for the past four years, Congress adjourned without passing energy legislation. But, just before heading home for this year's August recess, the House and Senate reconciled different versions of the energy bill each chamber had passed in the spring.

Opening Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge or ANWR to oil drilling was not included in the final version of this energy bill, but the Senate had provided such authorization in an unrelated budget measure. Drilling for oil in the Arctic, that would at most cover six months of U.S. consumption, is still on the table. The energy bill gives billions of dollars in subsidies to profitable industries and deregulates the energy industry by repealing one of the strongest consumer and investor protection laws, the Public Utility Holding Company Act.

Between The Lines' Melinda Tuhus spoke with Tyson Slocum, research director with Public Citizen's Energy Program, a consumer advocacy group in Washington, D.C. He assesses the bill and what he views as the measure's few positive provisions along with its many negative aspects.

Contact Public Citizen's Energy Program at (202) 588-1000 or visit their website at www.citizen.org

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