WASHINGTON (Reuters) - White House proposals to overhaul the nation's energy policies and boost U.S. production of oil, gas and coal will move swiftly to the Senate Energy Committee, which will hold hearings on it as early as next week, Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott said on Monday.
Proposals for U.S. energy production, conservation and research measures are expected to be unveiled by President Bush on Thursday.
Lott, a Mississippi Republican, said he hoped to have an energy bill ready for debate by the full Senate by the third week of June.
"I will ask the Senate Energy Committee to begin hearings next week on the president's energy proposal and the situation in the energy area in our country," Lott told reporters on Capitol Hill.
Lott also said a short-term measure might include a temporary cut in the federal gasoline tax. The White House has not embraced the idea of rolling back a portion of the 18.4-cent-a-gallon fuel tax.
"There are lots of arguments against that, but it is one of several things we could consider, depending on how things develop," Lott said.
The funds collected are used to pay for highway maintenance and improvements.
The average U.S. retail price of gasoline has risen to a record $1.713 per gallon, the Energy Information Administration said on Monday in its weekly report.
Bush's energy proposals will emphasize offering tax incentives and streamlining federal regulations to produce more oil, natural gas, coal, nuclear power and hydroelectric power. The recommendations will also include some conservation measures, but the president last week blamed record-high gasoline prices on the lack of new refineries and said conservation would not lower the prices.
The White House proposals are expected to be incorporated into the Republican energy bill.
LEGISLATION BY JULY 4?
The head of the Senate Energy panel, Alaska's Republican Sen. Frank Murkowski, earlier this year introduced legislation to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and other Western lands to oil and gas drilling. Democrats and some Republicans in the Senate are expected to block any attempt to open the refuge for drilling.
Senate Democrats recently offered their own energy bill, which offers some incentives to increase production but emphasizes conservation.
House Democrats on Tuesday will unveil their own energy bill, which will largely mirror the Senate Democrats' version, with a strong emphasis on tax credits to spur energy efficiency by individuals and businesses.
"Hopefully, we will have legislation about ready by the Fourth of July," Lott said. "The timing is going to be interesting because it could be a long, hot summer."
Similar legislation would also have to be passed by the House of Representatives.
Lott said the energy problem was long in coming and virtually ignored during the past eight years by the Clinton administration.
That administration offered legislation concerning the nation's energy supplies, but Republicans blocked it from going forward.
Brushing off Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle's call for an investigation of rising energy prices, Lott said: "All the Democrats want to do so far is to try to figure out who to blame. They might want to look in the mirror. It'd be a good start."
NO ELECTRICITY PRICE CAPS
Lott also echoed the Bush administration's rejection of wholesale electricity price caps for California and its Western neighbors.
Democrats, California state lawmakers and even giant utilities have urged the federal government to impose limits on electricity prices for a few months.
"You wind up by encouraging more usage by capping the prices, and the supply will not be provided," Lott said.
California, the nation's most populous state, is facing an estimated 30 days of rolling blackouts this summer because of lack of electricity and soaring wholesale prices.
©Reuters May 14 2001 10:21PM