September/October 2006 | The Aluminum Association | Washington
Aluminum's success depends greatly on an affordable and reliable electricity and natural gas supply. Manufacturers consume approximately 33 percent of the natural gas in the United States?not only as a source of energy, but as a feedstock in other products. Adequate, affordable, and reliable supplies of natural gas and oil are essential to the growth of the U.S. economy and to our quality of life.
Flawed federal policies have created a fundamental imbalance between growing demand and declining supplies of natural gas. Due to restrictions on energy exploration and development, U.S. natural gas supplies are currently insufficient to meet demand, and the problem is expected to get worse. The supply shortfall has led to a cost differential that is placing U.S. manufacturers at a competitive disadvantage to other nations. This energy crisis has already contributed to the loss of 3 million U.S. manufacturing jobs since 2000.
Currently, there are several pieces of legislation under consideration in Congress. Bipartisan support is necessary for legislation to increase the U.S. energy supply by opening the Outer Continental Shelf to deep water exploration for natural gas and oil.
Months and years of manufacturer lobbying over our energy supply shortages have paid dividends. On June 29, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 4761, the Deep Ocean Energy Resources Act, by a 232-187 vote. Then, on August 1, the Senate passed S. 3711, the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act, by a 71-25 vote. Since the House and Senate bills differ slightly, they will go to conference, wherein the differences will be ironed out.
The U.S. House and Senate passed separate energy supply bills earlier this summer, but the aluminum industry and manufacturing community need full passage from this Congress before the mid-term elections to put a bill on the President's desk and begin needed relief to our stressed energy supply.
