Sen. Lugar has released a draft verson of an energy bill he plans to introduce as an alternative to the Kerry-Lieberman proposal.  Sen. Lugar says the bill will “meet many climate improving goals, without cap and trade, by conserving energy and saving people, businesses and government money” according to his website.

Some of the anticipated impacts of the bill include:

• Foreign oil dependence would be cut by two-thirds;
• National energy consumption would fall by 14%;
• Average household electric bills would be reduced by 10%; and
• Greenhouse gas emissions would be cut by 25%, or about two billion metric tons.

To learn more about this proposal, visit http://lugar.senate.gov/energy/

On Wednesday, June 9, the full committee will hold the fourth in its series of hearings regarding the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. In this hearing, the Committee will examine issues related to the Department of the Interior’s May 27 report, “Increased Safety Measures for Energy Development on the Outer Continental Shelf,” including oversight of recent actions recommended by the Department to address the safety of offshore oil development. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar will be the witness.

Also, Majority Leader Reid hopes the Senate will take up clean energy legislation later this summer. In a letter, Reid asked key committee chairmen to either report bills or submit ideas before July 4 on how to respond to the as-yet-uncontrolled oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Fortunately, Senate Energy Committee staff has been working on these issues for several weeks, responding to Chairman Bingaman’s instructions to develop a legislative package that addresses key concerns related to this disaster. To read more visit the committee’s website.