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Enron Mail |
Congressional Republicans Draft Energy Bill to Aid the West=09 Rep. Joe Barton has spliced together emergency legislation aimed at aiding = energy markets in the Western United States via funding for improvements in= California's constrained transmission line SP-15 and directing federal dis= aster officials to prepare for power outages. The move by Republicans came= as Democratic criticism of the Bush administration's response to the Calif= ornia power crisis intensified Wednesday. Although the bill will not conta= in the price caps sought by Democrats and a handful of Republicans, Barton = said he would allow amendments in support of price controls during committe= e deliberations. A list circulated by GOP staff in recent weeks includes a= range of ideas such as relaxing environmental rules, subject to a governor= 's request; increasing federal energy assistance to low-income consumers; f= iring up mothballed power plants; and directing federal facilities to reduc= e energy use by 10%. Additionally, the bill would grant governors the flex= ibility to allow power plants that have exceeded emissions limits to tempor= arily keep operating during emergencies.=09
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