American Gas - November 2011 - (Page 22)

ince joining the U.S. Senate in 2002, Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, has championed the issues most strongly affecting her constituents, and indeed, the nation: energy, health care, education, military/ veterans’ affairs and infrastructure development. The senior Republican member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Murkowski also serves on the Senate Appropriations Committee, where she is the ranking Republican of the Interior and Environment Subcommittee. She also is a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and a senior member of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee. Alaska is known for its breath-taking landscape, and Murkowski has worked to preserve that beauty while harvesting the natural gas and oil so desperately needed throughout the Lower 48. The senator twice won Senate approval for opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as part of the budget process (the implementing bills did not pass), secured federal loan guarantees for the Alaska Gas line, increased pipeline loan guarantees and reauthorized methane hydrate research. “Energy production, reliability and affordability [are my top priorities],” Murkowski recently told American Gas. “Most Americans—certainly Alaskans, but I think people in all states—are amazed that the federal government works so hard to keep our resources from being developed. ... But the natural gas, the oil, the minerals, those belong to all Americans. We have a right to benefit from our resources. It’s the simplest, fairest and most productive solution to the jobs and deficit issues we face.” The senator shares her perspective on other key energy challenges—including federal government support for energy efficiency programs and natural gas as a transportation fuel—in the following exclusive interview. AMERICAN GAS: As the ranking member of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and as a representative from an important energy-producing state, you have no doubt thought a great deal about our nation’s energy future. What role do you see natural gas playing in that energy future? SEN. MURKOWSKI: I can’t imagine a future without natural gas playing a major role, and there are so many reasons why that is a good thing. The reality is that we have a tremen22 November 2011 AmericAn GAs S dous resource base, and it’s only likely to grow bigger, so there are opportunities to harness it for applications, such as vehicles and power generation, at a scale we didn’t always think was possible before. AMERICAN GAS: After much debate pro and con, climate change legislation is off the front burner right now, but is it really dead or do you foresee a time when Congress takes it up again? If so, what would it look like, and what are its chances for passage? SEN. MURKOWSKI: I don’t foresee climate legislation resurfacing in any form that resembles the proposals we’ve seen advanced so far. That’s because they were totally unworkable bills that ignored serious economic questions and could not possibly have achieved what they purported to do—not least of all because they tended to put natural gas at an artificial disadvantage. I certainly support efforts to reduce emissions, but I want to ensure those efforts don’t harm our economic competitiveness. I would be happy to advance an energy bill that results in fewer emissions while producing more domestically produced energy of all forms, and I believe that’s the only sort of bill that stands any chance of passage. AMERICAN GAS: On that note, given the presentday political realities, will any energy legislation be passed in the 112th Congress, and if so, what would be its main provisions? SEN. MURKOWSKI: Absent some unforeseen event, major energy legislation is unlikely to pass in the 112th Congress due to the current makeup of the Senate. It’s possible the so-called “Super Committee,” The Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, could include certain energy provisions within its proposal, but they’d have to be directly related to raising revenue, which means either opening new federal lands for production or raising taxes—neither of which have so far drawn bipartisan support. I’m working to advance what’s possible. AMERICAN GAS: You are known as an outspoken proponent of increasing energy efficiency, and the direct use of natural gas in America’s homes and businesses is one of the most efficient ways to use energy. Even so, AGA’s member natural gas utilities increasingly are developing energy efficiency programs for their customers that will reduce energy use even further. Do you see any role for the federal

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Gas - November 2011

American Gas - November 2011
Contents
President’s Message
In the Know
In the News
Safety First
Talking Energy
Marketplace
Saving LIHEAP
Company Profiles
Places to Be
Noteworthies
Jobline
Advertisers’ Index
Facts on Gas

American Gas - November 2011