Letter: Bad energy bill shouldn’t be law

Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2003 | 8:51 a.m.

Every Nevadan deserves a safe, clean and affordable energy future. That is why I am so relieved that the Bush administration's destructive energy bill was blocked recently by a bipartisan group of senators concerned with the health of our communities and the environment. Kudos to Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., for doing the right thing and kudos for Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., who also has said that the current bill will not get his support either.

While this is good news for clean air and clean water, I am concerned that the Bush administration and its allies in Congress will try once again to pass this harmful bill when Congress returns next year.

This energy bill threatens to take us backward by putting our communities at risk to more air and water pollution while letting polluters off the hook for contaminating drinking water around the county. The Bush energy bill would also endanger our public lands and fragile coastlines with more oil and gas activities, deepen America's oil dependence and funnel billions of dollars to the biggest polluters in the country -- the nuclear industry. We just can't let that happen to us, for the nation or for Nevada.

Our senators should stand up to this damaging energy bill and make sure that it never becomes law. America deserves a better energy policy. Reid and Ensign need to keep fighting for alternative energy research and development here at home. They need to fight for more efficient fuel policies. We are counting on them to do this for us.

MARY BETH HORIAI