NEWS OF THE WEEK LEGISLATIVE
UPDATE
ENERGY, OTHER BILLS FOUNDER IN SENATE Spending bills, taxes, and asbestos reform are among laws not passed
FAR APART Senate Majority Leader Frist (left) and Minority Leader Thomas A. Daschle (D-S.D.) failed to see eye-toeye on much legislation this year.
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HOUGH PRESIDENT GEORGE
W. Bush is basking in the success of passage of his Medicare reform bill (see page 27), his success was less apparent in
other areas. The Senate failed to pass an omnibus energy bill last week, killing the measure for this year despite months of tough negotiations. Majority Leader William H. Frist (RTenn.) gave up GREEN
on the bill after it became clear that he could not get the two votes he needed to break a filibuster over the conference report on the bill (C&EN, Nov 24, page 10). The problem that proved fatal was a provision in the conference report that provided a liability waiver for producers of the gasoline additive methyl tert-butyl ether, exempting them from lawsuits on cleanup costsfromMTBE contamination. Although the provision was passed by the House, the Senate wanted to drop it. But House leaders insisted it stay, causing the impasse that shelved energy legislation until next year. The energy bill was the most visible bill to fail in the Senate this year, but not the only one. The closely divided and argumentative body broke down on a number of other legislative efforts.
ENERGY
DuPont Mulling Canadian Wind Farm
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uPont Canada is installing a meteorological tower at its facility in Kingston, Ontario, for the evaluation of wind turbines at the site, which is operated by Invista, DuPont's fibers business. The tower will be built by Canada's Vector Wind Energy. It will be about 150 feet tall and will gather data for 18 months as part of a feasibility study on a four-turbine wind farm that would generate k to 5% of the electricity needs of the Kingston facility—or enough power for 500 homes. Invista would purchase the majority of the power, sending about 20% of the output to the local community around Kingston. DuPont says the output would help toward its goal of generating 10% of its to-
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tal energy needs from renewable resources by 2010. The project will eventually be inherited by Koch Industries, which earlier this month agreed to purchase Invista from DuPont for $4.4 billion. That deal is expected to be completed early next year, and a DuPont Canada spokesman concedes that Koch's plans for the wind project remain up in the air. However, "until the deal is signed, it is business as usual," he says. Brian Barr, president of Vector Wind Energy, says DuPont's plans are a huge step. "With 99% of Canada's wind resources laying undeveloped and with companies like DuPont leading the way, we believe there is tremendous opportunity in this sector."-ALEX TULLO
An attempt to legislate an end to costly asbestos litigation failed because Senate negotiators, led by Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah), could not agree on the size of a victim compensation fund to be paid for by companies and insurance firms. Apiece of environmental legislation that is stalled in the Senate would amend U.S. laws to make them compatible with international treaties to control persistent organic pollutants and require prior informed consent for chemical shipments to developing countries. Passing this measure is the only thing keeping the U.S. from being a full party to these agreements. On tax matters, neither the Senate nor House has taken action to change the law on taxing income that companies receive from overseas operations. The current US. law was declared in violation of the World Trade Organization, and the European Union has vowed to place $4 billion of retaliatory duties on U.S. goods if the law is not changed by January More retaliation faces U.S. exporters next year because Congress has not repealed or amended the Byrd Amendment, a law that gives funds collected from antidumping fines to the U.S. companies affected. The World Tirade Organization also found that this law is a violation ofits rules and demanded that the U.S. change it before Dec. 27. Finally, the Senate is expected to adjourn next week without completing its most fundamental job—passing all 13 appropriations bills for fiscal 2004. A $390 billion omnibus spending bill that includes the seven appropriations measures not yet passed by the Senate is expected to be approved by the House this month, but the Senate does not plan to vote on it until January. The government will not close down, however, as a continuing resolution on the 2003 budget is in effect untilJan. 31.-DAVID HANSON HTTP://WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG
