Inside Report for August 20, 2008

• By WILL SENTELL
• Advocate Capitol News Bureau
• Published: Aug 20, 2008 - Page: 7B - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.

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U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu’s plan to help pass a major energy bill faces two massive hurdles.

The proposal is sponsored by five Democratic senators, including Landrieu, and five Republicans.

It would allow:

• New oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and off a portion the East Coast.
• New investments in alternative forms of energy.
• A renewed push for nuclear power.

The key hurdles?

The window for congressional action is brief. And plunging gasoline prices could slow the push for changes that appeared more likely when motorists were routinely paying $4 per gallon and more for gasoline.

The sole chance for approval this year, Landrieu noted, is when Congress returns in September from its five-week vacation.

That gathering is supposed to last less than a month, during the closing weeks of the presidential and U.S. House and Senate contests.

Landrieu herself faces a re-election challenge from Republican state Treasurer John Kennedy.

How hard has it been to pass a sweeping energy bill?

“We have been gridlocked for decades on a real solution to energy,” Landrieu told members of the editorial board of The Advocate.
Forging a congressional breakthrough on a volatile topic — few rank higher than gasoline prices — appears remote in the best of times.

Backers need the support of 60 senators to get around a filibuster.

Passing such a bill amid intense, election-year bickering on what to do about prices at the pump adds another layer of problems.

The package is being sold as sort of a tough-medicine-for-both-sides bill.

“We fully expect neither party to endorse it,” Landrieu said of the bill.