Energy Bill: Fueling Corporations/Depleting Native Lands

Yesterday, President Bush signed a massive energy bill at the Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Bush had traveled from his ranch in Crawford, Texas in order to sign the $14.5 billion dollar bill which is the first major overhaul of the nation's energy policies in 13 years.

* President Bush, "The bill will allow America to make cleaner and more productive use of our domestic energy resources including coal and nuclear power and oil and natural gas. By using more of these reliable resources to supply more of our own energy we'll reduce our reliance on energy from foreign countries and that'll help our economy grow so people can work."

Energy executives and industry lobbyists have been working on variations of this bill for five years. In fact, the legislation grew out of a task force led by Vice President Dick Cheney, the former CEO of Halliburton. The Cheney Energy Task Force, which was formed in 2001, was charged with developing a national energy policy. Some documents released under court order showed that the task force met exclusively with industry executives.

Supporters of yesterday's energy bill, which was passed with bi-partisan support, claim that the new law will refocus the country's energy priorities and promote cleaner and alternative sources of energy. Critics however point out that the bill gives huge tax breaks and subsidies to energy companies that are already enjoying record-high profits. And as crude oil prices reached a new high above $63 dollars a barrel yesterday, they point out that the energy bill does nothing that would impact today's energy prices or promote sustainable energy by decreasing dependence on oil imports. The bill also revives the nuclear power industry by giving loan guarantees for builders of nuclear power plants. No new nuclear plants have been built in the U.S since the 1970s, reflecting intense public skepticism about the safety and costs of nuclear power.

The energy bill also has major implications for Native Americans living on reservations. Some Indian leaders have praised the law, which creates an Office of Indian Energy Policy & Programs at the Department of Energy. The office is supposed to increase the supply of electricity to reservation homes and businesses. However, other leaders and activists denounce the law for allowing further exploitation of Native energy resources through provisions for sending nuclear waste to reservations and renewing uranium mining on Indian land. The Indigenous Environmental Network, a Native grassroots organization, said the energy bill "poses threats to our lands, people and culture." And on this 60th anniversary of the U.S. bombing of Nagasaki, the first new nuclear power plants to be built in 30 years will likely be sited on reservations as well.

Title V Section of the bill deals directly with energy development on Indian lands, including Alaska. Native activists condemn Title V for the dramatic changes it brings to how energy development decisions are made in Indian Country. The provision releases the federal government of its traditional "trust responsibility" to tribes in the negotiation and enforcement of energy development agreements. Some tribal activists fear unfair deals will be made between powerful energy corporations and tribal governments.

* Karen Wayland, Legislative Director of the Natural Resources Defense Council
* Clayton Thomas-Muller, Native Energy Organizer at the Indigenous Environmental Network

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