Jeff Bingaman: “last Friday, May 17, marked the 1-year anniversary of the release of President Bush's National Energy Policy. And the…”

“last Friday, May 17, marked the 1-year anniversary of the release of President Bush's National Energy Policy. And the day after tomorrow, May 25, will mark the one-month anniversary of the Senate's completion of its consideration of the Energy Policy Act of 2002. I believe that it is appropriate to take stock of where we were 1 year ago, where we are today, and what we need to do next to move this process forward. One year ago, when President Bush released his National Energy Policy Plan, his proposal was little more than a glossy brochure. The summary of all the recommendations in the President's Plan, which appeared as the first appendix in his report, amounted to a mere 17 pages of text. Most of these recommendations were stated in very broad terms, and only about 20 actually related to legislation. A classic example of the recommendations in the President's Plan is the following one relating to electricity reform. Here is the electricity recommendation in last year's plan, in its totality: The NEPD Group recommends that the President direct the Secretary of Energy to propose comprehensive electricity legislation that promotes competition, protects consumers, enhances reliability, promotes renewable energy, improves efficiency, repeals the Public Utility Holding Company Act, and reforms the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act. That was it for electricity. Now those 44 words include some very good thoughts.…”