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The fight between the Democrats and the Republicans in the U.S. Congress appears to have intensified over the two energy bills to be passed by the house pertaining to oil spills that would hike the liability of companies responsible for the spill. Some of the key issues in the bills that are the cause of dissent between the two parties are highlighted.

A congressional conference committee is putting off the energy bill due to issues including MTBE, taxation, and gasoline additives.

The energy policy of the new 106th Congress that will convene in Jan 1999 is unlikely to be much different from that of the 105th Congress that preceded it. Apart from the resignation of Speaker Newt Gingrich and the ongoing impeachment drama, the majority enjoyed by the Congressional Republicans, who are generally supportive of energy industry interests, is one of the narrowest in history, which will make it more difficult to carry through with their agenda. The real power in the House is Majority Whip Tom DeLay, an opponent of government regulation who once proposed repealing the Clean Air Act.

New negotiations on a proposal to change the way crude oil is valued for royalty purposes will include lawmakers and high-level administration officials, according to government and industry sources. In the past, negotiations on the controversial proposal have included only industry and Minerals Management Service officials. Congressional Democrats hope to achieve a consensus on the issue before Congress adjourns in fall 1998.

Republicans in Congress are moving to introduce a bill to lift the pan on the export of Alaska North Slope crude oil. A similar bill in 1994 raised concerns that US jobs would be lost in the refining and shipbuilding industries. The new bill includes measures intended to appease maritime interests, but opponents still feel it is more in the interests of foreign multinational oil companies than US workers.

Senate Energy Committee senior aide Ben Cooper and other top congressional aides believe that more funding for the SPR is a crucial legislative goal for 1993. An energy tax proposed by the Clinton administration would be a possible source of funds, and Cooper believes that Congress would support it. With 574 million barrels of oil, the SPR is currently 175 million barrels short of capacity. Cooper believes that global warming and natural resources issues will become top issues in 1993.

No major changes have been approved by the US Congress before leaving for the 2010 upcoming elections. U.S. President Barack Obama has said that one of his top priorities in 2011 will be the energy and environment policy.

The U.S. Congress has approved a quadrupled tax hike in oil spill fee that companies have to pay into a federally administered trust fund used to compensate people and businesses that suffer as a consequence of the oil spill. The hike in oil spill fee has taken place mainly due to the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico from its runaway Macondo exploration well.

Physical energy hedgers on April 6, 2010 continued to press the U.S. Congress to allow them exemptions from mandatory clearing requirements for standardized products. The move comes as the Senate prepares a bill for over-the-counter derivatives reform.

A March 30, 2010 report by the National Wildlife Federation urges the U.S. Congress to end government subsidies for ethanol and biodiesel production. The report recommends the adoption of policies to accelerate the transition to next-generation biomass fuels such as switchgrass and algae.

The federal energy bill has been completed by the House and Senate. Only the provisions of relief from the alternative minimum tax for oil and gas producers will be drafted separately. Industry response has been mixed since the legislation does not allow exploration leasing in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. The provision allowing states the right to pro-rate natural gas production was omitted, but protection against natural gas import price discrimination was included.

Deputy Energy Sec Linda Stuntz predicts that there will be no natural gas provisions in pending energy legislation before the House and Senate. The House opposes moves in the Senate to eliminate proposed text on pipeline construction and the bypassing of utilities for direct supply of gas to consumers by other distributors. The House favors some restriction on states' rights to pro-rate gas production.

Deputy Secretary of Energy Linda Stuntz talked at a National Energy Resources Organization luncheon about the inability of the Democratic Congress to produce an energy bill. Stuntz said the Democratic platform does little to promote energy production in the US and cited the danger of a Bill Clinton/Albert Gore presidency giving the environment priority over industry. Industry executives are not convinced that a Clinton presidency would be harmful and independent companies favor Gore's pro-natural gas stance. They feel that Congress has become more supportive of their needs.

The US House and Senate have passed major energy bills with many similarities but also with differences that must be settled. Both bills contain alternative minimum tax measures, outer continental shelf limitations, oil and gas lease buybacks, alternative fuel amendments and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission natural gas pipeline approval method changes. The differences include the amount of limitations placed on oil and gas leases and a natural gas prorationing program included in the House bill.

A comprehensive energy bill will be deliberated in the Senate on Jul 22, 1992. The Nevada senators will prevent passage of the bill if it includes a nuclear waste site in their state and the Bush administration threatens to veto the bill if it includes taxes on coal firms to finance retired miners' health benefits. An amendment in the House bill that may also incur a veto, includes setting federal standards for state prorationing of natural gas.

Both houses of Congress must confer in order to iron out differences in their energy bills. The Senate Energy Committee is examining closely the part of the House bill dealing with federal regulation of state natural gas pro-rationing programs. Some senators are concerned about production limits as a way to illegally set gas prices while other senators believe it will solve a competition problem that does not even exist.

The U.S. Congress is passing several bills on sanctions to prevent Iran's access to gasoline in order to force it to abandon its nuclear enrichment program. However, the sanctions proposed are unilateral, which could make them ineffective in stopping other countries from supplying gasoline and other products to Iran.

The U.S. reconvenes in January 2009 to reveal that the entire Outer Continental Shelf will be open to oil and gas leasing. The absence of the moratorium is not likely to bring about an increase in leasing in the former moratorium areas.

Development of technology for use of solar energy appears to have suffered a set back due to lack of interest in the Congress.

On September 15, 2003, conference leaders between the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate Senator Pete Domenici, and Rep. Billy Tauzin released a draft proposal for a new energy bill. One aspect of the bill greatly troubles Canada: leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

The U.S. Senate Republicans were reportedly close to accepting a Democratic energy bill that had passed overwhelmingly last year. If accepted, this would mean that the Senate could adjourn for the summer with an energy bill, as had been promised. Among the features of the bill is pollution reduction incentives, and a plan to build a natural gas pipeline from Alaska along the Alaska Highway.

New and updated legislation concerning the oil and gas industries has been proposed or voted upon by members of the United States Congress. Pertinent bills include Regulatory Right-to-Know (H.R. 1074), passed by the House on July 26, 1999; Private Property Protection Act (H.R. 2250), now in the House Judiciary Committee; and Federal Oil and Gas Lease Management and Improvement Act (H.R. 1985), referred to the House Resources Committee.

Industrial concerns such as oil companies are pressing Congress to pass laws which would require states to allow residential and commercial consumers to choose their own industry and gas suppliers in the near future. Oil companies, either because they want to start competing with utilities in providing energy services or just to save money, are frustrated about the sluggishness with which states are opening up their energy markets to 'retail wheeling.'

State regulators are feeling pressure from the federal government to end the monopoly that utility companies have on providing electricity to residential and industrial customers. State governments regulate a $207 billion retail market for power generation, while federal officials regulate the smaller wholesale market for interstate electricity. Congressional legislation already is under discussion that would require states to open up electrical power monopolies. The legislation, however, is unlikely to be acted on until 1997.

The energy industry in 1995 likely will be affected by three major issues that Congress failed to resolve during the 1994 legislative year. The three major issues are funding the Environmental Protection Agency's implementation of a rule on reformulated gasoline testing that favors Venezuelan refiners, the reauthorization of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, and the Petroleum Marketing Practice Act. Other major issues affecting the energy industry include Superfund reform and tax incentives for deepwater offshore oil and gas companies.

Foreign refineries are gaining support from Representative Sharp (D-IN), who is fighting the House of Representatives' proposed amendment to an appropriations bill that would keep foreign refinery baselines tighter than domestic producers for reformulated gasoline. Currently, foreign refineries use a baseline figured from the average amount of gasoline produced in the US 1990. The Environmental Protection Agency would like to allow them to use their own 1990 baselines.

The Mar 1994 explosion of the Texas Eastern gas pipeline in Edison, NJ has led to calls in Congress for a centralized reporting system to enhance pipeline safety. Legislators, including Sen Bill Bradley, are calling for the implementation of central telephone number that people planning on excavating or digging around a site will be required to call to find out if underground gas pipelines are in the area. Bradley said the proposal would make notification of gas utilities prior to digging mandatory and subject to penalities for non-compliance.

A letter calling for a meeting with to discuss aid to the domestic oil and gas industry has been sent to Pres Clinton by 31 US Senators and 77 Representatives. The legislators are requesting the meeting because marginal oil products are being adversely effected by lower oil prices. The letter alleges that the low oil price of $14 per barrel has led to the abandonment of 50,000 oil wells representing 14% of domestic oil consumption. The legislators suggested tax incentives and regulatory relief to aid troubled marginal producers.