Barbara Lee Votes Against Republican Energy Bill

Barbara Lee Votes Against Republican Energy Bill

Bill Is a Gift to Corporations, a Calamity for Taxpayers and the Environment

(Washington, DC) - Congresswoman Barbara Lee voted against the controversial Republican energy bill today, calling it a gift to corporate energy interests that harms taxpayers and the environment and does nothing to address our nation's energy needs.

"This bill is a bonanza for the energy corporations; it contains some $37 billion in giveaways to oil, coal and nuclear industries," said Lee. "It does nothing to reduce our nation's dependence on oil, it doesn't provide the resources we need to develop renewable energy, and according to the Department of Energy, it will actually increase gas prices!"

Lee expressed concern about the environmental impact of the bill.

"This is a bill that pollutes our air by weakening the Clean Air Act, it exempts MTBE producers for poisoning our water, and it shifts the costs of cleanup from the polluters to taxpayers," said Lee. "Is this how the Republican Congress envisions celebrating Earth Day?"

In a surprise development, Democrats succeeded in forcing a vote on a controversial amendment, despite Republican procedural efforts to prevent it. The amendment, introduced by Rep. Lois Capps (D-CA), would remove a provision of the bill that retroactively exempts producers of the gasoline additive MTBE from liability for groundwater contamination. It was narrowly defeated, by a vote of 219-213.

Lee supported other Democratic efforts to alter the bill. She voted for an amendment, introduced by Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA), to ban drilling in the Artic National Wildlife Reserve (ANWR) that was defeated, 231-200. Lee also voted for a bipartisan amendment, introduced by Markey and Rep. Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY), to increase automobile fuel efficiency standards; it was defeated, 254-177.

http://www.house.gov/lee/releases/05Apr21.htm