T. Boone Pickens to visit Capitol Hill

Oilman-turned-windpower booster T. Boone Pickens will talk to Democratic and Republican House members next week as they grapple with energy woes, primarily skyrocketing gas prices.

Caucus Chairman Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.) announced that the CEO of BP Capital will address the 236-member caucus Tuesday night after members have voted. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) invited him to speak in a conversation they had this week.

{mosads}Pickens will also address the House Republican leaders at some point next week, according to a House leadership aide.

In a Wall Street Journal op-ed and television advertisements, Pickens has pitched a plan to dramatically reduce oil use by powering cars with natural gas and use wind power for electricity. He says it would reduce foreign oil imports by more than 30 percent, or $300 billion, in the next five to 10 years.

The closed-door meetings will lead off another week of skirmishing on legislation to address high gasoline prices.

Pelosi and other Democratic leaders are looking at bringing up their “use it or lose it” legislation, which has already lost twice on the floor. It could be paired with legislation ordering President Bush to release as much at 10 percent of the oil in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and a bill to curb excessive oil market speculation.

Leaders said the bills could be placed on the suspension calendar, which requires a two-thirds vote to pass, but blocks Republicans from trying to add legislation calling for more drilling in protected areas.

Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) a member of both the Energy and Commerce and the Natural Resources committees, on Thursday said the details of the Democrats’ SPR bill are still being worked out, but said the preliminary plan is to call on the president to release 70 million of the reserve’s 700 million barrels and trickle it into the market.

“You don’t have to deploy it every day,” Markey said. “You just have to know when to deploy it, to make sure that the speculators don’t control the price of oil, the American government controls the price of oil.”