Bipartisanship Key to Senate Version of Energy Bill

“The bipartisan bill coming to the Senate is much better” than previous versions, said Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., at a press briefing.

But Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., said: “I hope the U.S. Senate will go even further.” Dorgan is a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

Democrats are expected to press for a greater reliance on renewable fuels, requiring electric utilities to generate 10% of their power from resources like the wind and sun. A second amendment to be offered by Senators Jim Jeffords, I-Vt., and John Kerry, D-Mass., would force utilities to produce 20% of their electricity from renewable resources.

Yet another amendment will call for a 40% reduction in U.S. oil imports by 2025. The nation currently imports more than half of its oil.
MarketWatch