Dems pressure GOP on Senate speculation bill

Senate Democrats fired the first shots of this week’s energy bill debate Monday, portraying a Tuesday cloture vote on a speculation crackdown as an urgent step to tackle record gas prices.

While Sens. Byron Dorgan of North Dakota and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota explicitly refused to endorse any GOP amendments on drilling during a morning press conference, they did not rule out production-based solutions. Dorgan pointed to a comprehensive bill being drafted by Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.), who chairs the Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

{mosads}The North Dakota senator repeatedly emphasized that Republican senators must allow an 11 a.m. Tuesday cloture vote on the speculation bill to go forward before Democratic leaders will consider any next steps. Dorgan is a co-sponsor of the bill, which increases regulation of potential speculation in the oil futures market through the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

“We understand this is one step, but it’s the first step,” Dorgan said of the bill. “Let’s not create a false choice that we somehow have to define drilling, which might give us some additional oil in five to 10 years, before we do something that represents the first urgent step.”

Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) said last Thursday that Republicans will allow cloture on the bill, but made it clear that the conference will press for drilling as part of any legislation that ultimately comes out of the process. Dorgan said Monday that he expects to have enough votes for cloture, but he was less certain about a final vote. There is also the strong possibility of a presidential veto, meaning that the Democrats would need 67 votes for an override.

There is no equivalent House bill so far, but Dorgan said Senate Democrats have been talking with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) about House legislation.

Dorgan, a senior member of the Energy Committee, said Bingaman’s bill includes a “wide range of issues” and began taking shape last week.

“It includes some drilling, it includes conservation, it includes efficiency, it includes a substantial amount of additional boosts to renewable energy,” Dorgan said. “We fully understand that we need to do a lot of things. But we know what we need to do first.”